Blaze Bernstein killing: Affidavit hints at sexual pursuit
January 16, 2018 by admin
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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.
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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.
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Turpin: Shackled siblings found in Perris, California home
January 16, 2018 by admin
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Two parents have been arrested in California after police found they allegedly kept their 13 children captive at home, some “shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks”.
David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, were held on charges of torture and child endangerment.
The couple’s children – aged two to 29 – lived in Perris, 59 miles (95km) south-east of Los Angeles.
Officers were alerted by one of the victims, a 17-year-old girl.
The girl – who appeared to be “only 10 years old and slightly emaciated” – on Sunday managed to escape and call the emergency number using a mobile phone found inside the house, the Riverside Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.
What did police find in the house?
Police officers later found “several children shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks in dark and foul-smelling surroundings”.
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Getty Images
The parents are held on charges of torture and child endangerment
But the parents were unable to immediately provide a logical reason why their children were restrained in that manner, the police said.
The officers were “shocked” to discover that seven of those held in the house were actually adults aged between 18 and 29.
“The victims appeared to be malnourished and very dirty,” the police said.
All the victims are now being treated in local hospitals.
The head of one of the hospitals, Mark Uffer, told Reuters news agency: “It’s actually heartbreaking for the staff and it’s unbelievable what you see.”
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David-Louise Turpin/Facebook
Pictures show the Turpins in uniform and happy
How did they hide their secret?
James Cook, BBC News, Perris
On Muir Woods Road there is no hint of the horror inside number 160.
This is a smart suburban home with three cars and a people carrier gleaming in the driveway. The curtains are drawn but a decorative Christmas star can be seen hanging in one window.
The estate is neat and the houses on the road are spacious but they are close together. It is difficult to imagine how a family could hide such an enormous dark secret here.
And yet that is exactly what seems to have happened.
Neighbours are now engaged in soul-searching about whether they should have spotted that something was awry.
No-one seems to know how long the siblings may have been held captive and, of course, no-one can answer the hardest question of all – why?
What do we know about the family?
According to public records, the couple lived in Texas for many years before moving to California in 2010.
Mr Turpin has twice been declared bankrupt. At the time of his second bankruptcy he is said to have had a relatively well-paid job as an engineer at aeronautics and defence technology company Northrop Grumman.
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David-Louise Turpin/Facebook
The couple’s Facebook page contains numerous family photos
However, with so many children and his wife not working, records suggest his expenses exceeded his income.
On the California Department of Education website, Mr Turpin is listed as the principal of Sandcastle Day School - a private school operated out of his home.
The school was opened in March 2011, the website says. Six pupils are enrolled there, all in different grades.
Mr Turpin’s parents said that their grandchildren were home-schooled but that they had not seen the family for four or five years.
The couple’s Facebook page shows numerous photos of the whole family, apparently happy and smiling, some from events where they renewed their vows.
Many posts have comments from family or friends.
What do the neighbours say?
One neighbour told Reuters that the Turpin family “were the type that you didn’t really get to know anything about them”.
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Reuters
Neighbours said the Turpins rarely emerged from their home
“You would never see them on visit, you would never see anyone come outside. All you would really see is that they go out and maybe do a grocery round. And that was about it,” the neighbour added.
A neighbour from across the street, Kimberly Milligan, 50, told the Los Angeles Times they seemed strange and wondered why the children never came out to play.
“I thought the kids were home-schooled,” she said. “You know something is off, but you don’t want to think bad of people.”
She recalls on one occasion saying hello to the children but said they looked at her “like a child who wants to make themselves invisible”.
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