20/20 - The Last Text

Episode Date: January 4, 2025

A college teen vanishes while home on winter break. Will messages on his social media help his family’s personal search? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tonight, Blaise Bernstein, the name in the headline so many of you will recognize, the massive search triggered by celebrities and social media. But now the chilling new details. You may not have heard about this missing college student. The all-new 2020 starts right now. Who leaves their house without any of their items at night and doesn't show it back up again? This isn't just anybody. This is an Ivy League college student with his whole life in front of him. Did he run away?

Was he injured? Had he been abducted? Blaise Bernstein disappeared one week ago, missing while home for winter break. My dad was just like, when we have each other, it's going to be OK. And there was an immediate firestorm of attention to this case. Charlie Puth, he put it out there.

Creamo Dool-Jabbar. This is the period in which begins your amateur investigation. You become a sleuth. We would not have been able to figure it out without the help of kids his age. I remember showing the police, like, look what I have. And that's when the whole evening changed. Blaze Bernstein's phone, at that point in time, turned off and I had no more records.

So they've been together, together, together, and suddenly Blaze goes dark. I heard voices raised in the distance somewhere, screaming like, ah! Blaze's best friend received a text message. I did something really horrible for the story. No one can ever know. So if you're dealing with a situation like this you don't want the person who

you're hunting to know that you're onto them. Just help us find my brother. Well the search wrapping up today for a Lake Forest teen who disappeared while visiting his family over the holidays. Blaise Bernstein has been missing since Tuesday night. Police searching by ground with canines and by air with helicopters. We're hoping that he's just incapacitated in need of some medical assistance. Anyone with information should contact the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Blaise Bernstein.

Blaise Bernstein. Blaise Burstein. Blaze Burstein. Blaze Burstein. Blaze Burstein. Blaze Burstein. Blaze Burstein. Blaze Burstein. Blaze Burstein. Blaze Burstein.

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Blaze Burstein. Blaze Burstein. Blaze Burstein. Blaze Burstein. Blaze Burstein. Blaze Burstein. Blaze Burstein. Blaze Burstein. Blaze Burstein. Blaze Burstein. They love to dress up, they love to do puppet shows, and this is him in a school play when he was little. And we spent a lot of time at Disneyland, because it's right here in our backyard.

That's us sitting there. It was a great day. Memories of much happier times for parents, Gideon and Jeannie Bernstein, married in 1992. They moved from Los Angeles to Orange County to raise a family. They have three kids. The youngest is daughter Bowie, Jay in the middle, and Blaze, the oldest.

We had a lot of fun raising the kids together. It was fun. And no one can take that away from us, so we still own that. It's an upper middle class bedroom community about an hour south of Los Angeles, home to about 90,000 people. Growing up in Lake Forest was really nice. It was kind of inland from the coast, like 30 minute drive from the beach. It was actually a pretty really quiet residential area. Houses were beautiful, a lot of families there. When we wanted to

start a family we left Los Angeles with the idea that we'd be moving to a safe suburbia, one of the safest places in the country. And by all accounts, Blaze is this bright, gifted teenager with a sharp wit and a warm heart. I've known Blaze since we were babies. Blaze as a kid, besides being very high energy, he was really creative, he was really creative. He was very thoughtful. Blaze was incredibly bright, curious.

He was really a renaissance young man. I mean, he was interested in everything. Surrounded by family and friends, Blaze was bar mitzvahed in 2011. That's a Jewish celebration of adulthood on a boy's 13th birthday. It was an occasion especially meaningful to his grandmother. I did know that his grandmother was from Romania and survived the Holocaust. I really think that Blaze got it. He was proud to be a Jew, humanistic philosophy, caring about the world and understanding the world's only going to change if human beings change it. But even though Blaze possessed that

understanding, it offered no protection from becoming a target of frequent bullying. Growing up in Lake Forest was not super easy for him. He was bullied every single day on the bus. He just wanted to get out of the public school system. And it wasn't just the bullying. Even though Blaze is a good student, he longs for something more. Go man, go. Something that challenged him,

not just intellectually, but creatively. And he would find it at OSHA. OSHA is the Orange County School of the Arts. It is a 7 through 12 charter art school. In order to get into that school you have to audition and about 1 in 10 students who audition actually get into this school. So it's very competitive. Blaze auditioned for OSHA. He was artistic in every single way possible. He was very creative. His talents going in were performing arts and writing and he wanted to move into

the creative writing department. We've had students who wound up professional actors, designers, you know, writers, the whole thing, musicians. Among the more famous Osha alumni are actors Pedro Pascal, class of 1993, who starred in the HBO hit The Last of Us, and Matthew Morrison, a 1997 graduate and star in Fox's popular TV series Glee. I want you to listen very closely to the lyrics because I really mean what I'm singing. Once Blaze got to OSHA, he felt like there was a community there for him. He had a lot of friends.

He was very social. I met Blaze when he was a senior there for him. He had a lot of friends. He was very social. I met Blaze when he was a senior in high school. He shared some of his writing with me. And I wrote a letter of advocacy for his application when he applied early decision to Penn because he was a brilliant writer. Blaze's exceptional talents got him into the University of Pennsylvania, and he moved across the country

to Philadelphia as a pre-med freshman in the class of 2020. Was he homesick at the start? I think that the first semester at school was difficult for him in terms of the social life there. He was used to being in a small school. You know, now he's a little fish in a big sea, and I think that he had to come to grips with that. When I found out that he was going to an Ivy League,

I was like, oh, you know, that makes sense. At Penn, Blaze got involved in Penn Appetite. Penn Appetite is a student-run magazine for people who are interested in writing and also interested in food. He knew that those would be his people. Our photographer for Pen Appetit, he held a photo shoot where we dressed up

in our chef's whites and aprons. We brought whisks and knives. We have photos of him holding the whisk, being surprised. I mean, he was so helpful. And we're so fortunate to have these photos of him. It was a Tuesday in January. 19-year-old Blaze was home for winter break. He was in a really good place and looking forward to second semester of his sophomore year, but not before he treated his family to a special meal.

He was baking butternut squash with sprigs of thyme that were inside them. He made a turkey. He took over my job, more or less. I was on vacation and he was here. So dinner broke up, I guess, absolutely normally. It was a quiet night. I didn't hear anything unusual. I guess, absolutely normally. It was a quiet night. I didn't hear anything unusual.

I woke up the next day and it was a normal morning. A normal day until it wasn't. I got up and the door was closed and the housekeeper said, oh, don't wake him, let him sleep in. And I said, OK. I knew I had a dental appointment with him that day, so I decided I'd wait until my yoga class was over to try to contact him so I wouldn't wake him. And I tried getting hold of him and he wasn't picking up.

He wasn't returning my texts. But I went to the dental appointment thinking he would show up. And I immediately called Gideon and I said, he never showed up for his appointment. And he said, well, are you sure? He slept at the house last night, and that's when I... That's when we both kind of freaked out.

I yelled, oh, my God. 19-year-old Blaise Bernstein was last seen Tuesday night. We're hoping to find him and bring him home safely. MUSIC My dad called me and was like, hey, like, have you heard anything from Blaze? He's not picking up the phone. It's really weird. Like, just let us know if you hear anything.

And I'm like, that doesn't sound right. I was at work, so I basically run out of my office and jump in the car and drive home as quickly as I can and just go run upstairs and his glasses are there and drive home as quickly as I can and just go run upstairs and his glasses are there, his wallet's there, his keys are there. Panicked and confused, the Bernsteins were calling everyone they could think of to see whether anyone had seen or heard from Blaze in the last 12 hours.

And what were they saying? They didn't know anything. Nobody knew, you know, where his location was. I found out that Blaze was missing and it was just really shocking to me because I was like there was no way that he could have like run away. He wasn't that kind of person. So this is the period in which begins your amateur investigation. This is when we're trying to figure out what's going on.

You become a sleuth. Yeah. Well, we had no idea what was going on. He hadn't slept in the bed. And, you know, his bags for going back to school were already packed. You think, well, just hanging out with some kids, you know, other teenagers, and forgot to call home.

You just, you have to believe that's defense against the most awful. When it became dark outside, I think that's when we started to really be super concerned. One of the first things the Bernsteins thought of is using the Find My app, which allows users to share their location with others. So did you have like a Follow My Friend on the iPhone? Yes, yes we did. We had that and my friend on the iPhone? Yes, we did. We had that, and I saw that the location services

were turned off. So we called the Sheriff's Department. They came, and they were really downplaying it. Like, oh, you know, 19-year-olds, they run away sometimes, but they'll be back. He was adamant that 100% of the time that these kids are out on a booty call or doing something with the, yeah. He was adamant that 100% of the time that these kids are out on a booty call or doing something with, yeah.

He totally told me. Of course, we explained that there were some, you know, unique circumstances with regards to, you know, his personal belongings still being here. And so they offered to do a missing persons report. So a kid disappears without his glasses, his wallet or his keys. There were people who actually told me about it just in the couple of days after he went missing

who suggested that maybe this was suicide. Did you ever contemplate that? Never. Not even close. He was so happy. He was in a great place. He was in one of the best places I had ever seen him before. That week he was so happy, he was so excited to go back to school, he was so excited to like just have the rest of his life and so at that point there was no doubt in my mind like he would never

have done that. Gideon and Jeannie confirmed with Verizon that Blaze had made any recent phone calls. A quick check of his computer revealed no exchanges on iMessage or Facebook DMs. And so with virtually no solid information to go on, the Bernsteins, along with help from their 14-year-old daughter, Bowie, began dipping deeper into Blaze's social media. We would not have been able to figure it out

without the help of kids his age. Yeah, like our daughter. That he grew up with. And our daughter. Yes. I told my parents, I'm like, I can try and help you like find everything that like you need. I'm really good with Snapchat.

I knew the names of a lot of his friends, so I was able to like text them and ask them if they knew what was going on. And that's when the whole evening changed. Yeah. When they said, well, what about Snapchat? That's when the light bulb went on. I mean, we were exhausted, but I said, okay, let's try and figure out how to get in. Snapchat is a free mobile messaging application used to share photos, videos, texts.

But what's different about the app is that whatever is shared, including text messages, disappears from the recipient's screen after just a few seconds. We were lucky because we knew it was a new username because he was connected with our daughter and the password ended up being one of the ones that we had on our iCloud key chain. So we typed the username and then we tried that password in

and boom, we're in. Still getting into Blaze's Snapchat account was only half the battle. Yes, it might contain a critical record of who Blaze may have been in contact with the night he disappeared, but as the Bernsteins discovered, simply viewing the message might also trigger it to vanish.

At the time, Snapchat worked. If you sent a message, it could only be saved if you purposefully saved it, and it could be deleted by the person who sent it, and it only lasts 24 hours if you don't save it. And there were so many other pitfalls with this. I mean, if you take a screenshot of these communications because you think you're saving them,

well, that alerts the person that sent it to you. The sender gets an alert. So if you're dealing with a situation like this, you don't want the person who you're hunting to know that you're onto them. What you're describing is basically dealing with this digital nitroglycerin that at any moment could just blow up in your face.

And this is the most important thing in your lives right now. I had my daughter next to me. And I said, OK, I need you to save, because I know there's a way that you can save it, but I didn't really know how. What time is it by now? I don't know. It's like close to 10 o'clock at night, like 9 30, 10 o'clock.

And we saw that Blaze gave our address out to somebody. Did you know who? We didn't know at the time who it was. We saw the name. I had absolutely no idea who he was. I was so happy that there was somebody who we could talk to that could just help us find my brother. Bernstein's didn't know the person

Blaze sent his address to, but in the hours ahead, the discovery of that person's identity would turn the desperate search for their son upside down. Hi, this is Blaze's dad. We really need to know what you know. We can't find him. This is becoming an urgent issue with trying to figure out what really happened to him and we're going to really need your help on this because you're the last person that probably saw him. That was not the person that I really expected.

Who leaves their house without any of their items, you know, at night and doesn't show back up again. This isn't just anybody, this is an Ivy League college student with his whole life in front of him, with a beautiful life waiting for him. Hours had passed since anyone had heard or seen Blaze. Did he run away? Was he injured? Had he been abducted?

There was no sign of him anywhere. Now as darkness fell there was finally a glimmer of hope. We wanted to make sure that if there was any chance that Blaze was still alive that we took it. I wanted to ensure that not one second was wasted. And the Bernsteins discovered something else. It was a final text message sent to Blaze at 3 PM from his best friend. Hey, I'm really worried about you. Please text me.

There was no reply. The Bernsteins frantically reached out to that best friend, who told them Blaze did exchange messages with someone else overnight. Now it seemed that person was their best hope of finding Blaze. We don't know what the conversations were that led up to his disappearance, so we want that information.

Gideon Bernstein, through his own investigation, found out that there was communication on the Snapchat application. And so he was able to message through direct messaging Sam Woodward. We didn't know who he was. I was like, oh, we should call him. He definitely knows what's going on. And so I encouraged my dad to call him and we recorded a call.

We haven't heard from him all day. He missed an appointment today and then we started getting concerned and I've been trying to figure things out. So you're the first real clue to the puzzle here. Yeah, I... S***. Honestly, I... you know, I'm sorry. I don't know if my dad told me to record it or if I just had the thought that maybe having any sort of evidence that we could hold on to would be able to help us. I don't mean to put any pressure on you.

I know you're a nice young man. But I'm asking you for, you know, help on this if you can, if you've got the ability to do that. Absolutely. I want to find Blaze as much as you do. During that call, Sam Woodward told Gideon that Blaze suggested they drive to a nearby park to meet yet another one of his friends, but never mentioned that friend by name. And he said he invited a third friend to come along. So I said, OK.

I didn't want to speak because I didn't want to get involved. But I was listening to my dad just ask him questions and go back and forth. And then did he get out of the car or what happened? Yeah, he got out of the car. And I got out of the car too when I just Yeah, he got out of the car and I got out of the car too when I just asked him, you know, who is this guy and he was just like, you know,

you'll find out in a little bit, you know, he's a friend of mine and then started just like, okay, Blaze, and I just waited there by the bathroom and I didn't see where he went. I was just thinking to myself, like this is maybe weirdest like situation that we could be in at this moment. And I remember that phone call went on for a while too.

I guess I realized, you know, did something happen to him? So I went back, I searched all over from where I was at the library. I couldn't find him anywhere. And I guess I just figured he might just call me in the morning or just pranking me. But this is now, I'm scared now.

It's a disturbing phone conversation, which now raises more questions for the Bernsteins than it answers. We were curious to know who this person was, but then we did find out he was a student at OSHA. Twenty-year-old Sam Woodward and Blaze were former high school classmates at OSHA. I have known Sam since he was born. I kind of grew up alongside of him. I

remember excitement you know during Sam telling me that he was going to OSHA. Woodward grew up only 30 minutes away in the wealthy coastal town of Newport Beach. Sam was joyful. He was a really happy special kid. He lived in this house with his parents and a brother who by all accounts were devout Catholics and attended church regularly. Everything we did, all the families we spent time with were from our church.

I did teach Sam Woodward in acting for the camera in his 10th grade, and I had him for the one semester. For 10 years, Phil Schwadron taught drama and directing for grades 9 through 11 at OSHA. He was definitely serious. He didn't crack jokes, didn't laugh a lot as to my memory. Sam went to OSHA with me from 7th grade to 10th grade. I would say that he did not necessarily fit into the general OSHA RTFI. did not necessarily fit into the general Osha-Arty vibe.

We came back for what would have been Sam's 11th grade year. And I said, who have I got this year? And my boss said, yeah, you're gonna get them all back except one left the school. Who left the school? Sam Woodward left the school. I wasn't really surprised that he left. I kinda just thought that he left because he just didn't like it there.

After leaving OSHA, Sam enrolled in Corona Del Mar High School. During that time, he became an Eagle Scout, graduating in 2016. Now, two years later, nothing seemed to explain how or why this unlikely pair with seemingly nothing in common ended up together in this park. And now one safely home, the other nowhere to be found. So now you have this critical piece of information. Do we immediately call the sheriff's and say, yes, we have something? Yes, we did.

Yep, right away. And what's their response? They come over right away. They came over. OK. And now it was serious. We just gave them the lead of the last person we knew that he had seen.

I remember taking that call and showing the police, like, look what I have. We talked to somebody who said that they know where my brother is. When I first saw the missing persons report and I was reading the details, some of those details definitely stuck out. So something told me just deep within me that this was unusual. So my then partner, investigator, Jack Ackerman, and I went to the park park probably right around lunchtime on January 4th.

I had a feeling as a mother it was my intuition that something very bad had happened. On January 3rd 2018 the day Blaise Bernstein's family realized he was missing, Blaise's sister Bowie recorded a phone call between her father and 20-year-old Sam Woodward, a former high school classmate who says he was one of two people with Blaise the night he disappeared. I'm at Bernstein, but your guess is as good as mine. Woodward said Blaise made plans for a third person to meet up with them in a neighborhood park that night. Blaze didn't tell me anything about this guy, except that he was from OSHA like us.

Really appreciate you calling me and sharing that info. And is it okay if I reach back out to you if I need some help? Absolutely, I want to find Blaze as much as you do. When they were talking about meeting another person, I was like, what other person, who else would my brother be with? So you want a water?

I got a water, we'll come, I'll show you what. The next day, Orange County Sheriff's Investigators bring in Sam Woodward to ask some questions of their own. You can leave at any time. You're not under arrest or anything like that, okay? We're just trying to find a place. Find a place. That's it. As investigators get to know Sam Woodward, they learn that he was living with his parents and working jobs. My goals in life are just,

I just want to start a family. I just want to have enough money to support my kids. I just want to have a wife who loves me and get a good job and go to college. Woodward says he recently reconnected with Blaze on social media. He said something like Sam Woodward. Now that's a face I haven't seen in a while. I'm looking for eye contact. I'm looking for his general comfortability to try to gain a sense whether somebody I feel is telling me the truth or telling me a lie. At some point during the conversation on Snapchat, you decided to meet up.

That is correct. For Blaze's family, the fact that he went out at all that night was a revelation. We had dinner actually at the dining room table with everybody. He was supposed to fly back to school. So it was going to be the last time my parents were going to see him for quite a while. There was no indication from him that he was going out that night. During his interview with police, Woodward said that after he picked up Liz at his house,

they drove around for a while, eventually stopping at Borrego Park. Borrego Park is in the city of Lake Forest. It's a place where you can take your kids. It also has remote hiking trails that stretch for miles. At some point, somebody exits the car, right? Mm-hmm. Did he tell you where he was going? He said he was going to meet the friend that he was talking about. Just like in that call with Blaise's father, Woodward told officers that Blaise was

meeting another friend at the park that night. Woodward says he stayed behind as Blaise walked away and disappeared out of sight. At one point, I heard voices raised in the distance somewhere, but I mean, that happens to my neighborhood all the time. You hear like girls screaming, like, ah, and all that and so I didn't really pay much mind to it. I wanted him to feel comfortable talking to me, and he was. Woodward says he looked for Blaze, but eventually gave up and went home.

I mean, I don't know what happened to him, but something must have. All that matters is that you find him and you get him back to his family safe. Absolutely. Especially hurt talking to his parents because his parents are really nice people. After several hours of questioning, Sam Woodward left. But police, they remained suspicious. So they decided to put him under surveillance. I'm trying to record it right now.

There was a large team that was deployed into the field, and we followed him anywhere that he went. And with his growing cause of concern for Blaze Bernstein comes the glare of the media spotlight. The Blaze Bernstein missing persons case is now big news. The Orange County Sheriff's Department searched the park, but they haven't seen any signs of Blaze. Blaze was supposed to be in school this morning.

He was supposed to fly back Sunday, go to class today, but instead he's missing. I remember going with my dog to Borrego Park before and kind of just like walking around to see like, what if I find him here? Bowie documented that desperate period of time with pictures and videos posted on her Snapchat. Our congregation went into high gear.

We printed flyers with his name and picture and the facts and who to call, and we put them up on bulletin boards and polls all around the city. This point, it's now in the hands of the police. But you continue to work. Now you take to social media. Around the clock. You know, it looked like war games in this house.

We had terminals all over the dining room table and we were all just working. There was an immediate firestorm of attention to this case. We were absolutely inundated with tips from the public. There are hundreds within the first week and then that grew exponentially. Some of our contacts were friends with some of the celebrities that were willing to post it on their social media and so we had the missing persons flyer out for Blaze on you you know, Kobe Bryant's Facebook page

and Charlie Puth who put it out there, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. So it started to catch a lot of attention. We were spending every minute talking about it. People were filming in our house, interviewing my parents. Nothing like this ever happened where we were. Any sign of him, any clothing, obviously him. We're hoping to find him, hoping that he's just incapacitated

in need of some medical assistance so that we can get him and bring him home safely. There was like this team of people with drones and they were going throughout Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park. Where we were concerned maybe my brother was back there, maybe there was a mountain lion or maybe like something happened to him and he was missing or lost.

For the fourth night in a row the Bernstein family will go to sleep without their oldest son at home. It was clear as the week were on that it was more and more dire. There's a lot of pressure. Immense pressure to perform. Then on January 9th with Blaze missing for seven days now, a discovery which upends the kids. Jack and I were teamed up.

Jack said, Dylan. You heard it in his voice. I could hear it in his voice. We're going to turn now to those new developments and the mysterious disappearance of an Ivy League student. 19-year-old Blaise Bernstein missing while home for winter break. The Sheriff's Department launched an extensive search with help from the community. Days had passed since Blaze vanished into the night. Relentless search by police and volunteers had turned up nothing. Just more anguish for the Bernsteins and frustration for authorities.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department searched the park, but they haven't seen any signs of Blaze. We utilized cadaver dogs. We utilized drones. We had been to Borrego Park and searched that park over and over again with a fine tooth comb. On January 9th, a week after Blaze went missing, investigators decided to go back to Borrego Park one more time after obtaining cell phone data

showing Blaze and Sam Woodward were there together. And this is a week after Blaze went missing. Yeah, it led us to this particular area when all of a sudden Blaze Bernstein's phone at that point in time turned off. So they'd been together, together, together, and suddenly Blaze goes dark. Blaze goes dark and then Sam Woodward's phone continues. There was a torrential downpour.

It was cold, it was raining, everything was wet, everything was muddy. We searched all this area, all this area, until my partner Jack and I came to this area right here. I saw a spot that looked unusual. So I walked down, there was a large tree branch covering an area that looked a little odd. Like the rain had kind of settled some dirt around something. I moved the tree branch and you could see the left hip and upper left leg area of a human body. And you knew? I knew. Had to be him.

Instantly. In my gut, without even seeing the face. And I knew that it was Blaise Bernstein. They must have found his cell phone as well. We located a broken cell phone about probably six inches, eight inches below where the body was found. I was sitting in my English class in eighth grade

and the teacher got a call I was sitting in my English class in eighth grade, and the teacher got a call, and he was like, Bowie, you're gonna go to the office, they need you for something. And I was like, oh good, maybe some good news. And they took me into this room, and I saw my godmother. She was crying. And I looked at her, and she just hugged me and she said, they found him, he is dead.

Blaze is gone. To the index in the body of a college student found in Lake Forest, California, Blaze Bernstein had disappeared one week ago, the case now a homicide. That was the end of hope for me. We started off this journey over a week ago looking for our son and asking for everyone to help us find Blaise Bernstein. We just have learned that they have positively identified our son Blaze's body today. I just felt so numb,

like nothing that had happened in my life had mattered anymore. Then when I got home, my dad was just defeated, but he just like, he was just defeated, but he just said, like, it's going to be okay. Like, we have each other, it's going to be okay. Sorry. The specific details of what occurred at Bruegel Park are part of the ongoing investigation. The autopsy revealed injuries which I believe were a result of an extremely violent encounter.

Blaze was stabbed 14 times in the left side of his neck, 5 times in the right side of his neck. He was stabbed, you know, in the knee. He had defensive wounds all over his fingers. He was fighting for his life, and probably a surprise attack. You hear about that many stab wounds. What does it tell you about the person, or the mindset of the person who did that?

Hate and rage, intimate, is an intimate killing. It was devastating news for the family and for the community. My reaction when I heard it was fury, anger, disbelief. I haven't felt those feelings in my life. As the investigation into Blaze's murder began, hundreds gathered for a vigil in his honor. We lost one of our sons. I hope that we can all join together and support the Bernstein family.

The funeral was incredibly painful. incredibly painful. We had to ask for our SVPs because we could only accommodate here in the building about 11 or 1200 people. And then there was a public service at the largest space we have in Orange County a few weeks after the funeral in the 3,000 seats, and that was full. I believe most people are good. Students from Blaze's Performing Arts High School chose to sing Luke Bryan's song, Most People Are Good.

I see a lot of goodness here, and I hope that we can bring more tolerance, more peace, understanding, and love I hope that we can bring more tolerance, more peace, understanding and love to everything that we do and make a better world for our children. Thank you. The community wrapped its arms around the Bernstein family. The park near their house where Blaze played as a child and where his body was found turned into a makeshift memorial with messages of love and support from all over the world. This is a note somebody left us.

Dear Lord, please watch over the Bernstein family and give them strength during this time. Please guide our police department to help them find the person or persons who took Blaze away. We still needed answers because we didn't have anybody in custody. In my mind, the hunt was still on. But for investigators, the hunt would become far more complex because they've discovered that the night of the murder, Blaze's best friend received a text message from Blaze's phone saying, quote, I did something really horrible for the story, but also no one can ever know.

End quote. Blaze's friend responds, what story? But gets nothing back. That was the last text message that was sent from his phone. The last text message from the phone of a murder victim is always going to be of critical importance to a homicide investigator. We are six and a half years since my son was killed. Blaze is ready. Blaze the trail.

We are all going through our own personal hell right now. Blaze Bernstein was found with 28 stab wounds. You hear about that many stab wounds. What does it tell you about the person or the mindset of the person who did that? A lot of anger somewhere from within and he took it out on Blaze Bernstein. Did I introduce him to something that later on came back to haunt us all? Not only was this just a murder, now we're starting to see a bigger picture. What do you make of the fact that it's very possible that a neo-Nazi killed Blaze in the United States?

He's the grandson of a Holocaust survivor. This can happen anywhere. There was almost like a gasp from some people. Police believe they know who killed Blaise Bernstein. Were you planning to kill him that night? I hope that we can all join together and support the Bernstein family. We're hoping for better results, but yesterday afternoon, Sheriff's investigators did find the body of Blaise Bernstein. 19-year-old Blaise Bernstein was first reported missing by his family

on January 3rd, 2018. But after a week-long search, he was found dead in a park near his parents' Orange County, California home. As this investigation moves from search and rescue to a homicide investigation, we ask for your continued support in providing tips and information to the Orange County Sheriff's Department. As investigators search for answers about who had killed Blaisen, why, his parents Jeannie and Gideon flew east to Philadelphia to begin a grim task.

Cleaning out Blaze's apartment on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. The grief-stricken Bernstein family invited us to go with them for this emotional and difficult journey. This is the apartment building that my son moved into. He's on his first look at his mail. Five days before he came home to California. It's been hard for, especially for Jeannie, to come here, having to go and basically clean up your child's life after they're gone. The kitchen was meticulous. We had every appliance and everything.

I loved his apartment. It was so beautiful. It was so Blaze. This is the whisk sweatshirt that my brother got. He was an editor for the Pan Appetite magazine. We were going through his closet, and we found it. And I was like, I'm gonna take that We have an opportunity to meet places friends we will be here for you forever and we appreciate your friendship

I'm delighted that plays have them in his life because I know that they all made him very happy You would have loved this. He used to wear this all the time. Blaze was someone that you can trust with anything and I trusted him with my life. It was apparent that Blaze was figuring out himself, whether it be religion or sexuality or experience. At what point as parents did you realize that Blaze was gay? I had an idea about it when he was probably early high school. I saw something on a phone or that he didn't

want me to see and it kind of confirmed a suspicion that I had and I think he knew that I had seen it. We actually had a conversation while he was back at college and he was telling us essentially you know yeah I am gay but I just don't want to talk about it. Did people at school know? I think so. Yeah, I think his friends knew at school. Because Blaise was so open about his sexuality with me, I feel like that definitely gave him a better foundation.

So if he was to go to his parents and his family and open up about that part of his life, he would have known that we were all there for him. You noticed that too? I took a picture of it. As a mother of a gay man, I am proud to be that. Blaze is ready. Blaze the trail. You feel like an artist that you have spent your lifetime sculpting this

amazing piece of artwork and then it gets destroyed. And so here we are. Our artwork is gone. Hard to accept. Back home in California, the investigation continued and the focus remained on Blaze's former high school classmate, Sam Woodward, the person who admitted to driving with him to Borrego Park. We have interviewed that friend several times. That person is not in custody and we are not prepared to comment

on a person's interest at this time. When Arge County Sheriff's Investigator Dylan Jansen first spoke with Woodward the day after Blaze was reported missing, he says Woodward seemed nervous and told different versions of where at Borrego Park he and Blaze went that night. And Jansen says Woodward had what appeared to be injuries on his hands. Those cuts in your hands look pretty gnarly. I mean, how do you think you got those from the fight club?

Sam said he was involved with a fight club. He said that he sustained these cuts to his hands after somebody was clawing at him during one of the fights. When I swung at him, you know, I kind of fell on my ass. And I usually try and have my hands to break my fall for me, and so I landed on some rocks. I've heard of fight clubs, but I just, I didn't believe it. Anytime that Sam Woodward was walking around the station,

when he touched the doorknobs, he would cover his hands with the sleeves of his sweatshirt. Is he attempting to cover up fingerprints? Is he attempting to cover up DNA? It was definitely something that stood out. Nearly a week after that interview with police, when Blaze's body was found, investigators went looking for Sam Woodward once again.

Investigators said that when they searched Woodward's bedroom, there was some damning evidence. They found a knife with blood on the handle and on the tip of the blade. They also found blood stains on a sleeping bag outside his window and on the driver's side of his car. The knife that was found in Sam Woodward's room, the areas of the vehicle that had apparent blood in it, the sleeping bag that was found on the side of Sam Woodward's home, they were all tested for DNA and those results concluded to be the blood from Blaise Bernstein. With this new evidence, police are now ready to make an arrest. Under arrest, 20 year old Samuel Lincoln Woodward suspected of killing Blaise Bernstein.

Police say DNA evidence led them to arrest the 19-year-old's former high school classmate. I remember thinking to myself, that's the guy that was on the phone. At the time I thought, I wonder what my brother was thinking before he died. I wonder if he was in pain, or I wonder what my brother was thinking before he died. I wonder if he was in pain, or I wonder if he could have saved himself. I think once Sam was arrested, I knew my brother didn't have a chance.

But something the authorities were playing pretty close to the vest was motive. Why would Sam Woodward want to kill Blaise Bernstein? As the days unfolded, investigators would confront a possibility they hadn't even originally contemplated. Not only was this murder we're starting to see a bigger picture it was absolutely shocking. This morning the Orange County District Attorney's Office filed one felony count of murder against 20 year old Newport Beach resident Samuel Woodward.

Before joining ABC News, I spent 26 years as a deputy district attorney in the Orange County DA's office, and for a time, I was one of the prosecutors consulting on this case. Sam Woodward was taken into custody 10 days after Blaze went missing, and three days after his body was found. There was the victim's DNA on property that was in the control of the defendant. Well, I remember that moment well. I was sitting in my room.

I think I was watching it on television and I just thought to myself, it's finally happened, now what? And I just thought to myself, it's finally happened. Now what? With the knowledge of how Blaze was murdered, now an excruciating reality for the Bernsteins, the focus turned to why. Blaze was stabbed nearly 20 times in the neck.

Using a knife to kill is particularly violent because you have to be up so close. That Many Wounds says this was likely a crime of rage or passion, more personal than your typical murder. So as a prosecutor, my next question would be, who is Sam Woodward and what was his relationship with Blaze? I had no clue why Blaze would be meeting with Sam. You know, they were never really friends in school.

I just know that everybody else got bad vibes from him. Woodward grew up in Newport Beach, the wealthy suburb south of L.A. in Orange County. He was a Cub Scout, an Eagle Scout, and as we know, Woodward spent part of his high school years at OSHA, the same elite art school where Blaze had also been a student. It took me a couple of minutes as I watched the footage. It started to dawn on me, oh my God, that's the Sam I taught.

Every kid in my acting for the camera class, it was film work. So I said, everybody pick your favorite movie and bring me a scene or a monologue from that film. And he said, I want to do something from the Army. So I gave him Brad Pitt's speech in Inglourious Basterds. As a bushwhacking guerrilla army, we're gonna be doing one thing and one thing only. Killing Nazis.

The provocative Quentin Tarantino World War II thriller is about a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a band of Jewish soldiers. It weighs heavily on me. Did I introduce him to something that later on came back to haunt us all? A.C. Thompson, an investigative reporter for ProPublica, uncovered some disturbing information when digging into Woodward's background. When I started reporting on Sam Woodward, what really stuck out to me was this. Sam Woodward was a member of the Atomwaffen Division, which was a neo-Nazi terrorist group that aimed to bring

down the U.S. government and incite a race war. Race war now! Atomwaffen posted violent propaganda videos online to spread a message of hate and to help recruit new members. The Atomwaffen Division was a neo-Nazi group that existed from about 2015 to 2020. They were inspired by Charles Manson. They were also inspired by Tim McVeigh, the Oklahoma city bomber. They weren't interested in protests

or marching in the streets. They wanted to kill people. That organization was hell-bent on destroying America within, taking down the system. My reporting team and I got access to thousands and thousands of private chat messages that were between members of the Atomwaffen group. Sam Woodward was one of the people in these chats.

Writing in the chats under the alias Saboteur, Woodward spewed anti-Semitic, anti-gay, misogynist hate. When we executed the search warrants on several electronic devices, including computers and cell phones and laptops, there were thousands of images of white supremacist propaganda and hundreds and hundreds of images

to include the At Woffin division. But Woodward's interest in Adam Woffin apparently went beyond just talk in a chat room. Also found on Sam Woodward's devices was a picture with James Mason. He's a neo-Nazi whose writings Adam Woffin members describe as a main influence on the group, along with a photo of Woodward in a skull mask giving the Nazi salute. Now we're starting to see a bigger picture. Not only was this just a murder, there's a high probability that Sam Woodward killed Blaise Bernstein because he was homosexual, possibly because he was Jewish or a combination of both.

homosexual, possibly because he was Jewish or a combination of both. I'm here to announce the Orange County District Attorney's Office will file an amended complaint. A hate crime enhancement accusing Woodward of intentionally committing first degree murder due in whole or in part to Blaze's sexual orientation. We will prove that Woodward killed Blaze because Blaze is gay. We will prove that Woodward killed Blaze because Blaze is gay. What do you make of the fact that it's very possible that a neo-Nazi killed Blaze in the United States? Yeah, if that's the case, that's going to be the biggest tragedy of this story. He's the grandson of a Holocaust survivor.

This can happen anywhere. You aren't safe from this type of hate. But something else that's still not adding up, how are Blaise Bernstein and Sam Woodward connected? They were both from Orange County but Blaise, a young gay Jewish man, and Woodward, a member of a neo-nazi group, seemed to have nothing else in common. Why were they together that night in the first place? Sam Woodward would have his day in Bernstein in January 2018, it would take six years for him to face a jury.

Woodward was charged with first-degree murder, a hate crime he pleaded not guilty. 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein was stabbed repeatedly and killed back in 2018, and now, six years later, that trial finally begins today. By the time the trial was starting, I'd already left the DA's office, but I was watching the proceedings closely. Still, no one seems prepared for the Sam Woodward that is led into Judge Kimberle Kimberly manager's courtroom. There was almost like a gasp from some people just to kind of that visceral reaction to kind of seeing him.

Long dark stringing hair, long dark beard, covering his face. It's hard not to kind of draw mental comparisons to Charles Manson. Blaise Bernstein was found with 28 stab wounds. Senior Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walker's opening statements tell the story of a young man who they say set out to murder 19-year-old Blaise Bernstein in cold blood. That hate crime charge, she explains,

that was brought because prosecutors believe the evidence showed Sam Woodward murdered Blaise because he was gay, but not because he was Jewish. You'll see the cell phone evidence, the defendant's words, the defendant's hate. But in his opening statements, defense attorney Ken Morrison did something we definitely don't see every day, by making a stunning admission. My client, Sam Woodward, was responsible for that death.

The why is the single most important issue you will need to decide. This is no longer a trial about guilt or innocence. The question now becomes, did Woodward plan the killing because of the hatred of the gay people? Was it premeditated? If the jury agrees, that could mean a first degree murder conviction and most likely a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. Morrison argues for a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter and an acquittal of the hate

crime allegation, which would result in a reduced sentence and a chance for parole. The evidence will show that Blaise Bernstein's sexual orientation had absolutely nothing to do with the reason he was killed. Jennifer Walker calls her first witnesses, Blaise Bernstein's parents. Gideon Bernstein now faces down the man who killed his son as he recounts the painful moments when the family first realized that Blaise was missing.

You remember where you were when you got the phone call? I do remember that, yes. And why does that stand out in your mind? Because it was the beginning of... hell. Jennifer Walker then brings an Orange County sheriff's deputy to the stand to describe what he watched Sam Woodward do on January 5th 2018 after police decided

to put Woodward under surveillance. What did you observe? I observed him what appeared to be cleaning his vehicle, the interior and exterior. He had in his possession what looked like a spray bottle of cleaning product. He's now scrubbing the driver's side door. He had in his possession what looked like a spray bottle of cleaning product. He's not scrubbing the driver's side door. It was very strange to us. What was he cleaning? Why? Jennifer Walker then digs into the heart of her hate crime argument, portraying Sam Woodward as somebody who changed from Eagle Scout to Neo-Nazi.

somebody who changed from Eagle Scout to Neo-Nazi. He had developed his longstanding beliefs against Jewish people and gay people, and started joining groups that espoused the views that he had. This is where Woodward's involvement in the extremist group Atomwaffen becomes key for the prosecution. Investigators say they found these images on Woodward's personal devices.

The prosecution calls an ex-member to the stand, whose voice has been altered and his face obscured at the request of the court. He's also using an alias. Good morning, Mr. Murphy. Good morning. Prosecutors allege that Woodward sought out the group, and once there, the fires of his hatred were further stoked as he attended multiple meetings. So this summer of 2017, Austin, Texas, tell us what you and Sam Woodward did.

We took propaganda photos. Sam Woodward did. The prosecution also presents what Woodward himself labels Sam's Diary of Hate, emails he sent to himself over a seven-month period in 2017. The prey that the defendant had chosen was gay people. And he kept a diary of his feelings and intentions. And who did the prosecution allege that he was, quote, hunting? Well, they say that Sam Woodward had been visiting online dating sites to connect with gay men. Downloaded Grindr so I could send f*** photos of their fellow sodomites getting killed

and tell them that they're going to be next. They're f***ing terrified. LMAO. This is too much fun. They think they're going to get hate-crimed and it scares the f*** out of them. And this is how the prosecution claimed Sam Woodward targeted Blaze. Well, he was hunting for victims on the dating app Tinder. The two men first connected on the app in June of 2017, three years after they'd been classmates at OSHA. And then again, the night Blaze disappeared.

The last exchange is allegedly what led to their encounter in Borrego Park. And then here is where the luring starts and the defendant says is anyone near you right now because I just wanted to say and Blaise says nope, no what no one is near me and the defendant says What? No one is near me. And the defendant says, I might make an exception for you. The defendant says, look, do you have snap? And then we have Blaze snapping his address to the defendant at 10 37 p.m. on January 2nd of 2018. According to prosecutors, the trap had been set

and Blaze stumbled right into it that night when he agreed to meet up with Sam Woodward. But when it's the defense's turn to present its case, jaws will drop in the courtroom. Because the star witness will be the defendant himself, Sam Woodward. And the crux of the defense's case? That Sam had a secret and would go to any lengths to hide it, even if he had to kill. He kept saying something that I can only remember as, I got you already. I got you, I got you. Today we're going to another day of court. It's definitely a challenge emotionally and mentally to get up and just have to go and

do this. We are six and a half years since my son was killed. We are all going through our own personal hell right now. The prosecution rested last week and we're now listening to defense witnesses. Sam Woodward's defense attorney, Ken Morrison, is making his case. Sam did not hate Blaze for any reason. Remember, the defenses acknowledge that 26-year-old Sam Woodward killed Blaze Bernstein, but they insist it was neither a premeditated murder nor a hate crime. You will also hear lots of additional evidence that helps to explain why this homicide was

committed. But just as Morrison starts laying out his case, the defense team has dealt a blow. The judge rules that some evidence is inadmissible, including that mysterious last text message sent from Blaze's phone on the night of the murder. I did something really horrible for the story, but also no one can ever know. The jury then hears how Sam Woodward was diagnosed

with autism spectrum disorder, which the defense says hindered his ability to make and maintain friendships and contributed to Sam's acute sense of isolation and loneliness. This helps to explain how starved Sam was for the camaraderie, the brotherhood and acceptance and how profoundly vulnerable he was to recruitment into groups like Atomwaffen. The defense claimed Sam Woodward's

participation in Atomwaffen wasn't as much about ideology as it was about connecting with others and just having a good time. Morrison calls former Atomwaffen member Tyler Weesing to the stand. So would you characterize the camp as very serious in terms of the ideology, goals, training, that sort of thing? That was the intent and the image. In the reality, it was a bunch of people getting drunk and not taking things seriously. As for those Tinder messages, well the prosecution argued that Sam Woodward was online to hunt and terrorize victims. Morrison says that never happened,

and he argues that in this case, it was Blaise who pursued Sam. June 15th, 2017, Blaise Bernstein saw Sam's profile on Tinder. And Blaze Bernstein initiated the first contact with Sam Woodward, not the other way around. And then Sam says, thing is, you're not too shabby looking yourself, Blaze.

Blaze says, oh, well, thanks, Sam. That's sweet of you. Emoji. Sam says, yeah, you're cute, T.B.H., to be honest. According to the defense, Sam Wardward was repressing his own feelings of homosexuality, which could help explain the reason behind, quote, Sam's diary of hate.

He's trying to kind of keep this as, like, this hidden away part of his life, that these hate diary entries are simply narrative constructs to cover up that part of him should Adam Woffin members get suspicious. Morrison argues that Sam Woodward was tortured by his sexual identity because of what he claims he heard at home. He calls Woodward's mother, Michelle, to the witness stand. Ms. Woodward, was it ever communicated to your children that homosexuality is a sin?

Yes. And who communicated that? My husband. The defense calls James Markle to the stand, please. Family friend James Markle to the stand, please. Family friend James Markle tells the court about an incident he says Michelle recounted to him about Sam's father, Blake. Was there any particular word that Michelle Woodward told you that she would hear Blake call Sam? He would say,

He would say, Okay. But when called to the stand, Sam Woodward's father, Blake, denies using any homophobic slurs. Would you make derogatory remarks about homosexual people in Sam's presence? No.

But ultimately, the case would hinge on the testimony of the one person who was there the night Glaze Bernstein was killed, Sam Woodward. The defense is calling on Sam Noam Woodward. For the defense, calling their client to testify is a risky move. It can be viewed as a Hail Mary or as a very shrewd tactic to play on the jury's sympathies.

Hey Mr. Woodward, can I ask you if you're able to move the hair out of your face a little bit? Sam Woodward's defense attorney, Ken Morrison, takes Woodward through the story of his life, arriving at a key question. Sam, was there ever a time in your life that you can recall where you wondered whether you might be gay? No. No, I can't say it really.

There was, no. This may have just blown up Ken Morrison's defense, which hinges on the argument that Sam Woodward was struggling with his sexual identity. And that will become hugely important because of what Morrison is about to argue Blaze did that night, which he says provoked the attack. You will learn that Blaze Bernstein was not killed because of who he was, but because of what he did

to Sam Woodward after they met up. What will Sam Woodward say happened that night? When you drove to Blaise Bernstein's house to pick him up, Sam, were you planning to kill him that night. It's day 28 in the trial of Sam Woodward and defense attorney Ken Morrison is questioning his client about the night that he and Blaze ended up in Borrego Park. I'm pretty

sure I said we should hang out at some point or other be cool if you wanted to. And at some right after that he said to me that he was actually free this night right now and at that point I basically I said all right cool. Sam Woodward testifies that after picking up Blaze near his house the two men eventually arrived at the park. There on a bench, Woodward claims the night took a dark turn. Woodward said he spoke some marijuana, was starting to kind of get drowsy, kind of nod

off, feel something and opens his eyes. I saw a hand right on my crotch with my pants unbuckled. I looked right up and I saw him and he had his phone in his hand. He kept saying something that I can only remember is, I got you already. I got you, I got you, I got you, I got you, you f***ing hypocrite. I heard him maybe use the word outed in the same sentence. I couldn't exactly remember.

If Sam Woodward is to be believed, Blaze was threatening him, and that's what made Woodward is to be believed, Blaze was threatening him and that's what made Woodward snap. What, if anything, did you think he was doing with his cell phone? I thought he might photograph me. I thought he might send text messages. I thought he might be trying to record me. So at any point in time, did you see Blaze actually appear as though he was texting any messages?

Yes. Sam Woodward says his fear was that there had been an image or video taken and that his family would learn about it. I grew up in a home with my mother and my father and my brother. Loved them more than I could almost speak about. My father though, he if he'd heard about something like that that got out somehow, I couldn't fathom that. Sam Woodward then describes how he says things escalated. I found one of the knives that I'd used to open up the container of marijuana. I just kept driving and driving and driving and driving the knife down. When you say driving the knife down, Sam, were you stabbing Blaze?

At that point, yes, I was. In an effort to try to dispel any argument that this was a hate crime, Morrison asked Sam Woodward two final questions. Did you hate him because he was gay? No, not at all. But now, here's where the gamble of putting Woodward on the stand could either pay off or lose big. Okay, so walk me through it, sir. On cross-examination, Jennifer Walker attacks Woodward's credibility. The left side of his neck was closest to you, right? If he's sitting to your right?

Everything was a blur. Well, how did you stab him 14 separate times on the left side of his neck when he was sitting right next to you? I can't remember. And how did you stab him five separate times on the right side of his neck when he was sitting to your right.

I can't remember. After a trial full of fits and starts spanning almost three months, the case goes to the jury. The jury deliberates for about eight hours. We the jury in the above entitled action find the defendant Samuel Woodward guilty of the crime of first degree murder. It's an emotional moment even for the court clerk. Violate. Just one sec. Sure. I've prosecuted a lot of murder cases and I can't say I've ever seen a court clerk

react like that. With the jury in the above and title action, find it to be true that the defendant, Samuel Woodward, committed hate crime, first degree murder. We are thrilled with the verdict, which holds Samuel Woodward accountable for the brutal, violent, painful murder of our son. Justice has been served. Thank you.

Breaking news now, an emotional afternoon in an Orange County courtroom. The sentencing has just been handed down for the man convicted in the hate crime murder of Blaise Bernstein. This time the court does sentence the defendant to state prison for the term prescribed by law, which is likely not to possibly be the world. The jury said that they saw this as a hate crime and that hate was not going to get you anywhere in this world. In the seven years since Blaze Bernstein's murder, the family of Sam Woodward has never spoken out beyond their court testimony. But the Bernsteins say the Woodward's did leave something for them back in 2018. Have they reached out to you, by the way?

Yeah. We found a note under our doormat. What did it say, this note? Sam Woodward's parents, Blake and Michelle Woodward, never responded to an interview request with ABC News, but they did write a letter to the court submitted at sentencing. It reads, in part, In the past, you could look into Sam's eyes and be surprised at the level of sensitivity and warmth. It's one of his best traits.

Now he's too vulnerable to let you look him in the eyes. He committed a crime, but he is not a person without value, unworthy of respect. Speaking about the Woodward parents, they left a note at your house in 2018, right? They did. At the time I thought it was infuriating because one of the things that they said in that letter was that both families are going through a hard time right now. I don't think that she had any idea how hard of a time we were having. But there's another letter that holds more meaning

for Ginny and Gideon, discovered after the trial, tucked among the colorful painted stones of Blaze's memorial. This is a copy of a note that was left for us in the park by one of the jurors. She basically says in this letter to Blaze that she's really sorry that she didn't get to know him. Thank you everyone for coming to class today. So Blaze would be 27.

Do you ever think about what he would be like today? How he lived? He'd be doing something fantastic. I know that about Blaze. And he'd be making people happy. That's what he lived. He'd be doing something fantastic. I know that about Blaze, and he'd be making people happy. That's what he did. Blaze is always on my mind. I think about him from the minute I wake up until I go to bed at night.

He was my person. He was a piece of man. He's gone. But I'm still here. And whatever he's done to make an impact on this world is what we're gonna leverage and try to make sure that people never forget about our son and what happened.

Sam Woodward's defense lawyer, Ken Morrison-David, says his client didn't get a fair trial. Woodward has appealed. Morrison claims there are several appellate issues because of evidence the jury was not allowed to see. In the meantime, that is our program for tonight. Thanks so much for watching. I'm David Muir. And I'm Deborah Roberts. From all of us here at 20-20 and ABC News, good night.