Pre-med student Blaze Bernstein, whose body was found in a shallow grave last week near a Southern California park, was stabbed more than 20 times, and authorities are investigating whether the killing was an act of rage, the Orange County Register has learned.
Samuel Lincoln Woodward, 20, of Newport Beach was arrested Friday on suspicion of homicide and is being held in Orange County Jail. Woodward, who had attended high school in Santa Ana with Bernstein, could be charged in the death as soon as Tuesday.
Blaze Bernstein (Photo courtesy of Gideon Bernstein)
Mourners comfort each other as they join more that 300 people in Borrego Park in Foothill Ranch, Lake Forest on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018 for a candlelight vigil for Blaze Bernstein. A make-shift memorial of photos, candles and flowers was setup on a picnic table near the spot where Bernstein’s body was found. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A photo of Blaze Bernstein when he was six-years-old was placed on a make-shift memorial by a friend of the family. Over 300 people gathered in in Borrego Park in Foothill Ranch Lake Forest on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018 for a candlelight vigil for Blaze whose body was found in the park. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A wooded area at the edge of Borrego Park in Lake Forest on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018 is thought to be the location where the body of Blaze Bernstein was found. A memorial of balloons and flowers, left, was placed on a table near the site. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Samuel Woodward, 20, was taken into custody Friday, Jan 12, 2018 by Sheriff’s investigators in connection with the death of Blaze Bernstein. (Photo by Ken Steinhardt, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Rodney Lischer, left, and his son Matt, 20, of Lake Forest pay their respects at the memorial set up for Blaze Bernstein in Borrego Park in Lake Forest on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. The wooded area behind the table is thought to be the location where the body of Blaze Bernstein was found. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Over 300 people gathered in Borrego Park in Foothill Ranch, Lake Forest on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018 to hold a candlelight vigil for Blaze Bernstein. A make-shift memorial of photos, candles and flowers was setup on a picnic table near the spot where Bernstein’s body was found. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Orange County School of the Arts High school yearbook senior tribute to Blaze Bernstein.
Mourners embrace as they join more that 300 people in Borrego Park in Foothill Ranch, Lake Forest on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018 for a candlelight vigil for Blaze Bernstein. A make-shift memorial of photos, candles and flowers was setup on a picnic table near the spot where Bernstein’s body was found. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Orange County Undersheriff Don Barnes announces the arrest of Samuel Lincoln Woodward for the murder Blaze Bernstein during a press conference in Santa Ana on Friday, Jan 12, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A poster with the photo of Blaze Bernstein was on display at a press conference at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department in Lake Forest on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018 to announce that a body discovered in Borrego Park has been identified as missing teen Blaze Bernstein. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
This Friday, Jan. 12, 2018 booking photo provided by the Orange County, Calif., Sheriff’s Department shows Samuel Lincoln Woodward, 20. Authorities arrested Woodward, described as a friend of Blaze Bernstein, in the killing of the 19-year-old University of Pennsylvania student found buried Jan. 8, in a shallow grave at a park in Lake Forest, Calif. Undersheriff Don Barnes says DNA evidence links Woodward to the crime. (Orange County Sheriff’s Department via AP)
Expand
No weapon has been found.
A search warrant affidavit obtained by the Orange County Register indicates that 19-year-old Bernstein may have been planning to sexually pursue Woodward.
Bernstein was home in Lake Forest on winter break from his sophomore year at University of Pennsylvania when he disappeared on Jan. 2. His body was found Jan. 9.
Before his arrest, Woodward told sheriff’s investigators that he picked up Bernstein for a late night visit on Jan. 2, but that Bernstein left the vehicle and walked alone into Borrego Park.
Woodward also told investigators that he waited for Bernstein for an hour before driving to meet with a girlfriend. He said he returned to the park hours later to look for Bernstein. According to the 16-page affidavit, Woodward could not remember his girlfriend’s last name or where she lived.
Woodward was arrested Friday after crime lab technicians determined that blood found on a sleeping bag in his possession belonged to Bernstein, the Register learned.
Sheriff’s investigators were led to Woodward by entries in Bernstein’s social media accounts. In text conversations made in June, according to the affidavit, Bernstein told two female friends about his interaction with Woodward.
In one conversation, Bernstein wrote that Woodward was about to “hit on me” and “he made me promise not to tell anyone … but I have texted every one, uh oh.”
On the night that Bernstein went missing, according to the affidavit, he and Woodward parked outside a Hobby Lobby in Lake Forest. The affidavit also noted that Woodward told investigators that Bernstein kissed him on the lips, and that he pushed Bernstein away.
Investigators said in the affidavit that as he recounted that part of his story, Woodward clenched his jaw and his fists, saying “he wanted to tell Blaze to get off of him.”
Authorities said they noticed scratches on Woodward’s hands and dirt under his nails, which Woodward said were a result of falling into a mud puddle and participating in what he termed a “fight club.”
The court document indicated that Woodward was known at his high school — Orange County School of the Arts — for holding conservative political and cultural beliefs. Published reports cited Woodward’s social media missives in which he defended the Confederate flag and other postings indicating his love of guns, the Bible and waterboarding.
Sheriff’s detectives had Woodward under surveillance for several days before taking him into custody, and at one point secretly attached a court-approved GPS device to Woodward’s rental car, the affidavit said.
