SANTA ANA, Calif. (CNS) — A 27-year-old man was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the hate-motivated killing of a former gay classmate in Foothill Ranch six years ago.

Samuel Lincoln Woodward was convicted in July of the fatal stabbing of 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein on January 3, 2018.

The victim’s mother, Jeanne Pepper, read an emotional impact statement in court at Friday’s sentencing hearing:

“This calm and serious young man lied to us, the emphatic parents of the young man he had less than 24 hours before, stabbed 28 times with a 6-inch blade and buried in a park near our home, led us to believe. that Blaze had wandered into a dark, vast park near our house that leads into the wilderness behind our house.”

“As the search began the next day, law enforcement and tremendous resources came to our aid to search the woods, the park and the Internet for clues. His killer also showed up at the park that day and then went home to clean his car of everything. evidence… I am so scared when I think about my child being hurt, lost in the woods, or being held by an extremist group of neo-nazis. Then I got a call on January 10, my father’s birthday, they found my son’s body in the mud in the park,” she continued.

“How could this happen? No mother should have to bury her child… my heart was so broken and yet unable to accept the reality that he was no longer a part of our world. I was not told the details of what he was like. killed because I had trouble dealing with the reality of his death. I will never forget hearing for the first time that Blaze had been stabbed 28 times while listening to the news in the park where he was found collapsed on the ground screaming. That was one of the many panic attacks I would have that first year.”

“It’s the worst and most painful thing that’s ever happened to me, to know that he died in such a horrible, horrible way, stabbed by someone who claims to be a high school classmate,” she said.

“When I think about his last moments, it terrifies me so much that I used to have panic attacks just thinking about it. Sleepless nights.”

“I never thought I’d smile again or be happy again, but I sit here today relieved and happy that this sociopath will never leave Orange County again or kill someone else’s children… while Sam rots in prison, we’ll be here. outwardly, celebrating Blaze’s life and continuing to do good with others who work every day to make this world more caring, kinder and safer for the Jewish and LGBTQ communities,” said Pepper.

The hate crime enhancement held that Woodward killed Bernstein because of the victim’s sexual orientation, not because he was Jewish, although jurors were also presented with evidence of the defendant’s association with a neo-Nazi group known as the Atomwaffen Division for consider a pattern of fanaticism.

Woodward and Bernstein attended the Orange County School of the Arts together for four years. Bernstein graduated after six years at the school and went on to become a pre-med student at the University of Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, Woodward transferred to Corona Del Mar High School, where he graduated and went on to Cal State Channel Islands before dropping out in his second semester.

Woodward spent five days testifying during the trial, often taking as little as 30 seconds to answer yes or no questions. Woodward’s attorney, Ken Morrison of the Orange County Public Defender’s Office, presented evidence of his client’s issues with autism that made him so hungry for company that he was easily drawn to a neo-Nazi group.

Woodward said he contacted Bernstein hours after a long text exchange with his older brother’s best friend, Dylan Gronendyke, on New Year’s Day 2018. While Woodward complained that he could not establish no meaningful relationship and will even leave the house and walk alone in a parking lot just to give his parents the impression that he’s out with friends, Gronendyke encouraged him to go back to college and not give up trying to make friends.

Almost a day passed before Bernstein responded to Woodward, and the two agreed to meet on the night of January 2, 2018. Woodward stuffed snacks, drinks, and marijuana into a sleeping bag and took Bernstein, who directed the two to Borrego Park. where the victim’s mother said he has many memories throughout his life, such as football in his youth.

Woodward testified that he took two hits from a heady strain of marijuana and felt himself nodding off until he felt a strange sensation on his legs and immediately thought he had relaxed too much and urinated himself, as he had previously done.

When he rushed over, Woodward testified, he realized his pants were unzipped and the victim had his hand on his groin. Bernstein also appeared to be photographing or videotaping the encounter, he testified.

This sparked panic in Woodward, who said he was in “death terror” his family, who opposed homosexuality on religious grounds, would find out. He said he struggled to get the phone from Bernstein, who, the defendant claimed, was saying words to the effect that he would “get rid of” Woodward, who had a reputation at the high school for homophobia.

When he couldn’t get the phone, Woodward said he broke down and repeatedly stabbed Bernstein and then smashed the phone.

Woodward said he dug a shallow grave with his hands and left the body in the park.

When Bernstein failed to show up for a dentist appointment, which was unusual, and he couldn’t be reached, his worried parents began looking for clues and contacted authorities. The victim’s body was found on Jan. 9, 2018, in an area of ​​the park that had previously been cleared, but recent rain made it easier to see, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walker.

Morrison told jurors that the evidence of his client’s autism was not presented in an effort to excuse the murder, but to help jurors understand his state of mind — and for them to reject hate crime charges and accept a lesser degree of homicide.

“Samuel Lincoln Woodward should be held accountable for what he did,” Morrison said during his closing argument. “He shouldn’t be held accountable for what he didn’t do. This case was overloaded.”

Morrison characterized his client as struggling through life, not realizing he had autism until he was 18 when it was too late for the interventions usually prescribed. The disorder made it difficult for him to communicate and led to social awkwardness and loneliness, and the late diagnosis made him particularly vulnerable to being courted by a fringe, extremist group like Atomwaffen Division, the defense lawyer argued.

Woodward became disillusioned with the group after a two-month trip in the summer of 2017 to Texas with the man who lured him into the group, when he ran out of money for food and a motel, Morrison said.

Morrison claimed that although Woodward and Bernstein did not interact much when they were classmates, there were projects they worked on together and that Woodward considered him a “chill guy”. Morrison said the defendant was surprised to learn Bernstein was gay when they reconnected. on a dating app in June 2017, and Woodward came to admire how the victim was comfortable with her sexual orientation while the defendant struggled with his own.

Walker argued to jurors that evidence indicated Woodward planned to attack Bernstein in a “ceremonial” killing to gain prestige for the neo-Nazi group. She said she wore a sweater with a picture of a skull on it to “scare her”. in the victim and that she had Bernstein’s blood spattered on her after the attack.

When Bernstein’s panicked parents went through their missing son’s social media for clues, they called Woodward, who lied to them about what happened to their son, according to the prosecutor. Walker said Woodward began searching for DNA information and even cut his hair to change his appearance while Bernstein’s search made headlines.

She brushed aside Morrison’s arguments that Bernstein betrayed Woodward’s pleas to keep quiet that the two matched on a dating app.

Walker said Bernstein was rightly “shocked” to see Woodward looking for men on the dating app and sent a link to his public profile to several colleagues at the art school.

Walker said Bernstein kept his promise not to share the details of their conversations with others.

Copyright 2024, City News Service, Inc.

ABC7.com staff contributed to this report.