Timeline: The Blaze Bernstein Murder Case

A look at the disappearance of Blaze Bernstein and the evidence that led to Sam WoodwardArrest and conviction for hate murder.

January 2, 2018

Blaze, a 19-year-old student at an Ivy League university, was spending the holidays with his family in Orange County, California, when he disappeared on the night of January 2, 2018.

3 January 2018

After Blaze failed to show up for a dentist appointment and failed to respond to texts and phone calls, his parents, Jeanne Pepper and Gideon Bernstein, searched his room. Although they did not find Blaze, they did find his wallet, keys and glasses still in the house.

They searched Blaze's computer and social media accounts for clues. On Blaze's Snapchat, they found messages from Sam Woodward, who had been Blaze's classmate in high school. The messages revealed that he had sent Woodward his address the night Blaze disappeared. Gideon Bernstein contacted Woodward, who claimed he picked up Blaze and drove him to the local Borrego park. Woodward said Blaze then left in the dark to meet another friend.

“I didn't see where he went,” Woodward told Gideon Bernstein. “I looked everywhere for him… I couldn't find him anywhere.”

After this call, the worried Bernsteins filed a missing person report with the police.

6 January 2018

Police repeatedly searched Borrego Park. By this time, news of Blaze's disappearance had spread throughout Orange County.

Still hoping for good news, the Bernstein family held a press conference urging the public to continue searching for their son.

9 January 2018

After days of searching, investigators found Blaze in a shallow grave in Borrego Park after heavy rains uncovered his body. He was stabbed more than 20 times. Blaze's damaged phone (pictured) was also found in this grave.

Investigators believed that Woodward was the last person to see Blaze before he disappeared. Woodward had told them what he had told the Bernsteins – that he had met up with Blaze, who had then gone to the park. Investigators obtained a search warrant for Woodward's home.

12 January 2018

Sam Woodward was arrested on January 12, 2018.

17 January 2018

Woodward was charged with murderr with an increased penalty for the private use of a knife.

Later in 2018, then-Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas told 48 Hours that investigators found a knife in Woodward's home.

“There was blood on the knife,” Rackauckas said. “Brenn Bernstein's blood was on the knife.”

He also said they found blood in Woodward's car.

“The blood on the headliner belonged to both Sam Woodward and Blaze Bernstein,” Rackauckas told “48 Hours” correspondent Tracy Smith.

February 2, 2018

Woodward was brought to trial and pleaded not guilty.

2 August 2018

The Orange County District Attorney's Office added another charge to the original charges against Sam Woodward: a hate crime.

Prosecutors alleged that Woodward intentionally killed Blaze because he was gay. If convicted, Woodward could now face a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Authorities say they found evidence of Woodward's involvement with the neo-Nazi terror group Atomwaffen after examining Woodward's phone, laptop and social media accounts.

9 April 2024

In the opening statements his processThe prosecution told the jury that Woodward killed Blaze because he was gay. Defense attorney Ken Morrison acknowledged that Woodward killed Blaze, but argued that the killing was not premeditated, but a case of manslaughter. He argued that Blaze did something that provoked Woodward to kill him and told the jury that Woodward would testify about what happened the night of Blaze's murder.

10 April 2024

“I know there are a lot of things being said that are probably not true,” Jeanne Pepper told “48 Hours.” “Because that's what happens in a criminal trial… I have the opportunity to defend Blaze, and that's what I'm going to do.”

Blaze Bernstein's parents were among the 23 witnesses who testified for the prosecution.

20 June 2024

When it was the defense's turn, Woodward told the jury that he smoked a joint the night he killed Blaze. He said Blaze taunted him and threatened to reveal his sexuality. Woodward accused Blaze of sexual assault. There is no evidence of this.

Woodward testified that he then stabbed Blaze. He said he had always carried a knife with him since his Boy Scout days.

July 3, 2024

The jury found Sam Woodward guilty of first-degree murder, excluding the hate crime.

“He faces a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole,” said Jennifer Walker, Orange County's deputy district attorney, after the guilty verdict. “And that is what we will be demanding.”

October 22, 2024

Sam Woodward must appear in court again for sentencing.

Blaze's Legacy

After their son's murder, Blaze's parents were determined not to let hate win. To honor their son, they created a movement called “Blaze It Forward” that inspires good deeds.

There is now a memorial to Blaze in Borrego Park, where Blaze tragically died. To this day, people from all over the world leave stones in his memory.