Prosecutors say hate was at the center of the fatal stabbing of a 19-year-old man in Orange County six years ago.
Samuel Woodward is charged with murdering his former classmate Blaze Bernstein, who was found dead in the woods near his family’s Foothill Ranch home in January 2018. During opening statements Tuesday, Senior Deputy DA Jennifer Walker told the jury that Woodward killed Bernstein because he was gay.
The prosecutor read excerpts from what she called Woodward’s “hate diary” written in the months before Bernstein’s death. She said Woodward was a member of a white supremacist group called Attomwaffen Division and had downloaded Grindr for the purpose of luring and taunting gay men.
"He started catfishing and researching his prey," Walker said. "The prey the defendant chose was gay people."
Bernstein was found with 28 stab wounds and defensive wounds on his hands. Prosecutors plan to present physical evidence linking Woodward to the crime, including a folding knife and Attomwaffen turtleneck with the victim’s DNA.
Woodward’s defense attorney doesn’t dispute that his client was responsible for Bernstein’s murder. However, he claims Woodward “did not hate Blaze because he was gay,” adding that the defendant thought Bernstein was “a pretty chill dude.”
“Ms. Walker did not share with you all of the facts that you’ll hear about during this long trial,” public defender Ken Morrison said. “You will also hear lots of additional evidence that helps to explain why this homicide was committed.”
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The murder charge against Woodward includes sentencing enhancements for a hate crime and the personal use of a deadly weapon. If convicted as charge, he faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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