Looking through the Tinder dating site less than a year before his violent death, Blaze Bernstein was shocked to find that his former Orange County School of the Arts classmate Samuel Woodward — who during their high school years earned a campus reputation as a conservative social outcast among the largely liberal student body — had created a profile searching for other men.
A late-night meetup between the two former classmates six months later would end with Bernstein buried in a makeshift grave at the edge of a small Lake Forest community park, after Woodward allegedly stabbed him nearly 30 times. Investigators would recover a blood-stained knife, which Woodward’s father had gifted to him decades after the elder Woodward bought it from a drunken fisherman desperate for drinking money at a Newport Beach bar.
But, months earlier, in the moments after stumbling across Woodward’s Tinder profile, Bernstein’s mood leaned toward adolescent joking around, as he messaged a close friend — who had also attended the Orange County School of the Arts — about his discovery, leading the friend to reply “Oh my God!” in all caps. While Bernstein, who was gay, simultaneously carried out an at-times flirtatious online exchange with Woodward, he continued the joking conversation with his friend, who at one point wrote to Bernstein, “(expletive) Sam Woodward.”
Now, as Woodward is in the midst of a murder trial for Bernstein’s killing, Woodward’s conservative views, his family background, and his possible struggles with his own sexuality are at the center of his defense case. Woodward’s attorney has acknowledged that Woodward killed Bernstein, but denies the prosecution’s contention that it was a hate crime.
In testimony that resumes on Monday, June 17, the defense case is expected to culminate in Woodward testifying about what happened the night he killed Bernstein.
Leading up to that key testimony, jurors have heard from Woodward’s parents, former classmates, former dormmates and family friends as the defense has worked to paint a complicated picture of a young man who was considered by nearly all who knew him as a loner and a social outcast.
Born and raised in Newport Beach, Woodward and his older brother grew up in a conservative household. Woodward’s father, Blake, testified that religion played an important part in their lives, as well as what he described as “regular and vigorous debates” among family members.
When Woodward was around 10 years old, his parents said they noticed that he began to be ostracized from kids his age. His father described other children rejecting Woodward, saying they were no longer interested in his son’s make-believe games such as enlisting them to be part of the “imaginary country of Sam.” His mother also attributed it to their family not being as wealthy as others in Newport Beach.
Woodward was later diagnosed with autism and obsessive-compulsive disorder, his attorney said, which likely contributed to his social issues.
Despite his struggles, Woodward was drawn to performing, and was chosen to play the lead in a school play of “Willie Wonka.” That led his parents to decide to send their son to the Orange County School of the Arts, despite his father’s reservations. The father confirmed during his testimony that he feared the “homosexuals” at the school ” would “convert Sam because he was different.”
Many classmates who have taken the stand during Woodward’s trial remembered little of him from their high school years. They generally described Woodward as expressing conservative, and at times homophobic, views and then keeping to himself away from other students during breaks. One described him as seeming “closed off and awkward,” while another said he seemed to have a “disagreeable personality.”
But some witnesses have painted a darker view of Woodward’s family life. James Markel — whose family was friends with the Woodward’s and who babysat Samuel Woodward growing up — testified that Woodward’s mother at one time told him that Samuel Woodward was verbally abused at home and subjected to anti-gay slurs.
“It was a very cold house,” James Markel said. “The energy there was cold. And the life inside of its content was cold and lacking anything that would subtract from its conservative nature.”
Markel’s mother — Helene — testified that at one point Woodward’s father said “he was happy that Sam left the Orange County School of the Arts because that is where all the (expletives) were,” using a derogatory term for gay men.
Woodward’s father, during his testimony, denied using homophobic terms, though he acknowledged that he believes homosexuality is a sin and a choice.
Woodward — who finished his high school years at Corona Del Mar High School — became fascinated with nationalist and fascist groups, his father testified. He would occasionally make disparaging comments about Jewish people, and at one point said he needed to go to Los Angeles to tear down some LGBTQ posters, which the father said led him to voice his concerns to his son.
“He sat there and didn’t respond,” the father testified. “I specifically talked to him about being incarcerated because of the violence he could commit.”
Woodward spent a semester at Cal State Channel Islands, where he lived away from home for the first time in brand-new dorms. David Oliver, Woodward’s dorm roommate, testified that Woodward made an effort to fit in, though it clearly didn’t come naturally.
“He didn’t seem to know how to socialize in large settings with others,” Oliver said. “But he was doing things out of his comfort zone. He was trying to socialize with other individuals as much as he could.”
Woodward would often tag along with others, his dormmates said. But he would also often turn down invitations, instead opting to stay in his room and play online video games. And his hygiene drew concern from those who lived around him.
“There were complaints by other people on the floor that the room would smell and something had to be done,” Oliver said. “It seemed like there was a lack of effort on his part.”
After dropping out of college, Woodward traveled to Texas to train with the Atomwaffen Division, an organization federal authorities have described as a racially motivated, violent extremist group. Woodward’s attorney has described him struggling to survive in Texas, at times living with another Atomwaffen member in a pickup truck and a shelter and relying on food from a pantry.
When Woodward returned to California, his parents helped get him a job working for a mobile Nerf party business. His father also asked friends to try to mentor Woodward and prod him to think about his future and a possible career.
Bernstein was reported missing by his parents on Jan. 3, 2018, kicking off a massive, headline-grabbing community search. Woodward was quickly determined to be the last person to see Bernstein alive.
Woodward’s story — that he had met Bernstein in a park but that Bernstein had walked off to meet another unnamed person and never returned — was immediately suspicious to Bernstein’s parents. And investigators were even more suspicious when they saw Woodward with bloody Band-Aids on his hand and later cleaning his car. Woodward was arrested soon after Bernstein’s body was found.
A key question for jurors in Woodward’s trial is what his online writings and messages say about his beliefs, his intentions and his sexuality.
Despite his conservative and openly homophobic reputation, Woodward during his time at the Orange County School of the Arts had carried on an ongoing, years-long online conversation with an openly gay student. Woodward seemed to indicate he was struggling with his sexuality, that former student testified, and the exchanges eventually turned sexually charged. The other student showed friends an explicit personal photo he said Woodward shared with him.
But after his arrest, investigators also found what Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walker has described as a “hate diary” in which he described matching up with gay men on dating websites and “ghosting” them or scaring them by making them think they were going to be “hate-crimed.”
The prosecutor has drawn a direct line between Woodward’s homophobic statements to his joining Atomwaffen division, to allegedly targeting gay men online and finally killing Woodward due to his sexuality. She has argued that Woodward’s messages to his openly gay classmate in high school and later to Bernstein were part of that alleged effort to target gay people.
Assistant Public Defender Ken Morrison has countered by arguing the online conversations are a reflection of Woodward’s legitimate difficulty coming to terms with his own sexuality. And despite Woodward asking others to keep those conversations private, those messages were instead shared with others, the defense attorney has noted.
The jury’s ultimate decision may likely come down to exactly how they view what Morrison, Woodward’s attorney, described as his secret life behind closed doors.
“This trial is too important to sugarcoat anything,” the lawyer said in his opening statement.
Staff write Nathaniel Percy contributed to this report.
