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Blaze Bernstein, 19, disappeared from his parents’ Orange County home on a rainy January 2, 2018. He had planned a late-night meetup with former classmate Samuel Woodward.
According to Fox 40, 8 days later, on January 10, 2018, searchers uncovered his body, stabbed 28 times, in a shallow grave at Borrego Park. Detectives soon focused on Woodward after finding Bernstein’s blood and a knife sheath with the victim’s DNA inside his car.
Prosecutors later revealed Woodward’s allegiance to the neo-Nazi Atomwaffen Division. They labeled the killing as a hate crime targeting Blaze Bernstein’s Jewish faith and s*xual orientation.
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After a three-month trial, a jury convicted Woodward of first-degree murder with hate-crime and knife-use enhancements on July 3, 2024.
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Viewers can revisit the investigation when CBS re-airs 48 Hours: The Life and Death of Blaze Bernstein tonight, June 28, at 10 pm ET/PT on CBS; streaming on Paramount+. A broadcast that retraces the Snapchat trail, hate diary, and courtroom drama that forever linked Blaze Bernstein and Samuel Woodward.
5 key details about Blaze Bernstein’s murder explored
1) Blaze Bernstein’s last Snapchat set the timeline in motion
Investigators learned that Blaze had sent his parents' Laguna Niguel address to Samuel Woodward via Snapchat shortly before 11 pm on January 2. When Blaze Bernstein failed to answer texts the next morning, his parents found his wallet, keys, and glasses still left at home. This was a red flag that prompted an immediate missing-person report.
As cited in a CBS News report dated June 21, 2025, his mother, Jeanne Pepper, highlighted her son’s unique spirit, recalling:
“I call him a unicorn,...I think about Blaze all the time, because when I see things, I think to myself, 'what would Blaze be doing now?”
2) Rain revealed the hidden grave and critical forensic clues
A series of winter storms washed away topsoil in Borrego Park, revealing a shallow, muddy grave on January 9, 2018. Deputies recovered Blaze's body and noted the 28 stab wounds that would later establish overkill. The soil samples from Samuel Woodward’s shoes and inside his vehicle matched the burial site, and luminol tests revealed blood spatters on the car headliner.
Detectives also seized Woodward’s phone, where they discovered a “hate diary” outlining plots to lure gay men. Orange County Sheriff’s investigators testified that the forensic trail “left little room for error,” anchoring the prosecution’s narrative.
3) Prosecutors branded the killing a “ceremonial” hate crime
Over 3 days of closing arguments, Orange County Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walker argued that Woodward murdered Blaze to earn “prestige and recognition” inside Atomwaffen. As per The Guardian report dated July 3, 2024, Walker claimed the evidence showed that it was a “ceremonial killing,” motivated by antisemitic and homophobic ideology.
"This is a ceremonial killing for him that is going to get him prestige and admiration, which it did. We heard Atomwaffen was proud of him for this," she stated.
According to an article by NBC News, the jury also reviewed Atomwaffen propaganda and a skull mask stained with Blaze Bernstein’s blood. They also examined journal entries describing plans to “catfish” gay men online. This evidence transformed the case from possible impulse violence into premeditated hate. Blaze’s identity, prosecutors stressed, was the direct reason he was targeted.
4) Victim-impact statements underscored the crime’s brutality
The sentencing happened on November 15, 2024. As per an Associated Press report dated November 15, 2024, Jeanne Pepper told the court:
"Let’s be clear: This was a hate crime.... Samuel Woodward ended my son’s life because my son was Jewish and gay.”
Judge Menninger agreed, declaring that Woodward showed “no evidence of remorse” before imposing life without parole. Friends and relatives wearing “BlazeItForward” shirts, symbols of the kindness movement launched in Blaze's honour, stood quietly as the sentence was read.
5) Woodward refused to appear for his own sentencing
The sentencing on November 15, 2024, was set for 10 am, but deputies reported that Samuel Woodward would not leave his jail cell. His attorney claimed he was ill, and the hearing finally began at 2 pm without him in the courtroom, as cited in the ABC7 report dated November 16, 2024.
The judge proceeded, imposing life without parole while Woodward remained in lock-up.
Conclusion and aftermath
In the months following the murder, Blaze’s parents urged the public to perform random acts of kindness and share them with the hashtag #BlazeItForward. As per a CBS News report dated June 21, 2025, Jeanne Pepper said:
"Blaze's life mattered and he has a legacy, to create good news, to inspire people to be better, to be kinder. And to work on repairing the world, because it's not too late and we can make it better.”
The movement has funded scholarships, blood-drive campaigns, and anti-hate initiatives, ensuring that Blaze Bernstein remains synonymous with compassion rather than tragedy.
The upcoming encore of 48 Hours presents the key evidence, hate-crime findings, and final courtroom outcome in the case.
Stay tuned for more updates.
