Blaze Bernstein Update: Samuel Woodward Charged With University Of Pennsylvania Student’s Murder
The suspect arrested in the death of University of Pennsylvania student Blaze Bernstein was formally charged Wednesday. Samuel Woodward, 20, was charged with felony murder, according to a complaint filed in Orange County Superior Court.
The complaint alleged that Woodward killed Bernstein, 19, with a knife. Prosecutors also filed an “enhancement,” which would enable them to seek additional jail time for Woodward should he be convicted, according to the Associated Press. Woodward allegedly stabbed Bernstein repeatedly and buried his body in the California park where it was later found, the District Attorney’s Office said in a press release.
Bernstein was reported missing by his family Jan. 3 while he was home from college on break. His body was found Jan. 10 in Borrego Park.
Authorities arrested Woodward after they found DNA linking him to the crime scene. Woodward was reportedly the last person to see Bernstein alive and drove him to the park the night he went missing. Woodward and Bernstein were high school classmates. Officials had not yet released Bernstein’s cause of death but sources said Bernstein was stabbed at least 20 times, the Orange County Register reported.
Woodward reportedly told police Bernstein tried to kiss him the night they went to the park and said he tried to push him away. After Woodward’s arrest, Bernstein’s parents said they believed their son’s death may have been a hate crime.
“Our son was a beautiful gentle soul who we loved more than anything,” Bernstein’s parents said in a statement. “We were proud of everything he did and who he was. He had nothing to hide. We are in solidarity with our son and the LGBTQ community. If it is determined that this was a hate crime, we will cry not only for our son, but for the LGBTQ people everywhere that live in fear or who have been victims of hate crime.”
Should Woodward be convicted, he could face up to 26 years in prison.
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