Blaze Bernstein

January 2, 2018. Lake Forest, California. Blaze Bernstein left his parents’ home to meet up with a guy he had known from his high school days. The following day, his parents reported him missing when he failed to return home. Samuel Woodward, the man that Blaze had met with, claimed that Blaze had walked away into Borrego Park after an argument and he hadn’t seen him since. However, a week after he disappeared, Blaze’s body was found partially buried in the park. He had been murdered. Quickly, the police zeroed in on Samuel as their prime suspect. As new information arose, the police realized that the murder wasn’t a random event; Blaze had been murdered because he was gay and Jewish.

Sources

BlazeBernstein.org

Blaze Nathan Bernstein Find a Grave

Document reveals insight on investigation into Blaze Bernstein’s death The Orange County Register 1/10/2018

A Life Too Short: Blaze Bernstein Obituary Patch 1/16/2018

A teen was found buried in a shallow grave. His former classmate is not charged with murder The Washington Post 1/17/2018

Former classmate charged with murder in death of Blaze Bernstein Los Angeles Times 1/17/2018

California Murder Suspect Said to Have Trained With Extremist Hate Group ProPublica 1/26/2018

Blaze Bernstein killing: Suspect pleads not guilty, judge sets bail at $5M NBC News 2/2/2018

Blaze Bernstein's High School Classmate Pleads Not Guilty To Murder The Jerusalem Post 2/5/2018

Suspect in Blaze Bernstein murder is charged with hate crime Fox News 8/2/2018

Blaze Bernstein murder suspect charged with targeting him because he was gay Jewish Telegraphic Agency 8/2/2018

The Man Accused Of Killing His Gay Classmate Was Sexually ‘Confused,’ Attorney Says BuzzFeed News 8/22/2018

Man to stand trial for Ivy League student’s murder New York Post 9/4/2018

Alleged killer of Jewish college student Blaze Bernstein pleads not guilty Jewish Telegraphic Agency 11/11/2018

1 year after Blaze Bernstein's killing, parents look to turn alleged hate crime into ‘movement of hope’ ABC News 12/30/2018

Blaze Bernstein Murder: Was an Ivy League Student Slain in the Name of Hate? CBS News 7/20/2019