This was a hate crime," Blaze Bernstein’s mother, Jeanne Pepper, told the court. “Samuel Woodward ended my son’s life because my son was Jewish and gay.”

Samuel Woodward, then 21, was driven by 'pure hate and rage' over his victim's sexual orientation and religious beliefs, the judge says.

Samuel Lincoln Woodward was found guilty in July for the death of 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein, whose body was found days after he went missing, stabbed over 28 times and buried in a shallow grave at a Lake Forest Park.

Samuel Woodward, a California man found guilty of murdering his former classmate in 2018 in a hate crime, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Friday.

The trial was delayed for years due to questions surrounding Woodward’s mental health. In late 2022, he was found competent to stand trial.

A California man found guilty of murdering a gay, Jewish US university student in a hate crime has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Samuel Woodward, 27, was convicted in July for the 2018 death of Blaze Bernstein,

Samuel Lincoln Woodward was found guilty in July for the death of 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein, whose body was found days after he went missing, stabbed over 28 times and buried in a shallow grave at a Lake Forest Park.