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The upcoming episode of ABC's 20/20 is all set to cover the brutal murder of Blaze Bernstein, a case so twisted that it still shakes the community of Orange County, California. The 19-year-old University of Pennsylvania sophomore was a victim of a hate crime, which further makes his case a standout.
The murder will be documented in ABC's 20/20 season 47 episode 12, which will take a detailed look at the brutal murder and its repercussions. The synopsis for the case reads:
"When a teenager suddenly vanishes while home on college break, his sister sifts through texts and social media to help crack the case."
This episode will premiere on Friday, January 3, 2025, at 9 PM EST. Ahead of the episode, let us go over a few of the blood-curdling details about the murder of Blaze Bernstein.
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5 chilling details about the murder of Blaze Bernstein
1) Blaze Bernstein was murdered while he was visiting his family in Lake Forest, California
Blaze Bernstein was a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania studying a pre-med program. He was good at almost everything he did and it seemed that he had a very bright future ahead of him. However, when the young man visited his home in California for the holidays in late 2017, he never made it back to his university.
2) Bernstein was found stabbed 28 times in a gruesome manner
It did not immediately seem obvious to Bernstein's parents when he did not return to his family home on January 2, 2018, however when he did not turn up even the next day, his family grew concerned.
It took nearly a week before Bernstein's brutally stabbed body was found in the brush surrounding a park in Foothill Ranch. He was stabbed 28 times.
3) Someone who knew Blaze Bernstein was behind the murder
Bernstein was last seen in a car with Samuel "Sam" Woodward, who studied with him at Orange County School of the Arts. When Woodward was questioned, he admitted that Blaze was with him but had walked away after he allegedly revoked Blaze's romantic advances.
4) Blaze was a victim of a hate crime
Blaze being around Woodward was an odd occurrence as pretty much everyone knew that Woodward was homophobic, racist, and a neo-nazi. Blaze, on the other hand, was a homosexual, which made him Woodward's target. Blaze was also Jewish.
When investigators delved deeper, they found that Woodward was definitively involved in the murder, and his racism was the motive for murdering Blaze.
5) Sam Woodward was also a part of Atomwaffen Division
Sam Woodward was not only racist and homophobic, but he was also a part of Atomwaffen Division, also known as National Socialist Resistance Front, a far-right extremist and neo-Nazi terrorist network formed in 2013. There were a total of five deaths linked to this group between 2017 and early 2018.
Woodward was eventually sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on November 15, 2024. He continues to serve his sentence in the Wasco State Prison, in Kern County, California.
The upcoming episode of 20/20 on ABC will cover this case in detail. Stay tuned for updates.
