Murder Suspect Tells Police He Thought Penn Student Hit on Him

A 21-year-old was arrested in Santa Ana on Friday as the lead suspect in the murder of his 19-year-old former classmate, Blaze Bernstein.

Samuel Woodward admitted to police that he’d picked up Bernstein from his parent’s house on Jan. 2, the day he disappeared, but said they went their separate ways after Bernstein “kissed him on the lips.”

Sources close to the case told The Mercury News that Woodward’s interviews with police were full of erratic explanations and alibis. He said that, after the alleged kiss, he “wanted to tell Blaze to get off of him,” and shortly after that, he dropped Bernstein off at Borrego Park, where his body was later found on Jan. 9. Woodward reportedly spoke through a clenched jaw, with tightly balled fists.

According to Woodward, he left Bernstein at the park while he went to meet his girlfriend. However, he couldn’t recall her name or address for the police inquiry. He said that he stopped by the park on the way back to look for Bernstein, but found no sign of him.

Police found Bernstein in a shallow grave with 20 fatal stab wounds. Woodward insisted he had nothing to do with the murder, however he had scratches and dirt all over his hands in one of his meetings with police. He claimed that those came from his participation in a secret fight club.

Police finally arrested Woodward in connection with the case on Friday afternoon. He was brought into custody wearing a sweatshirt that read “Keep The Peace.”

Bernstein and Woodward attended the Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana at the same time, though it’s unclear if they were friends at the time. Bernstein was home on vacation from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a sophomore in their pre-med program.

Bernstein’s mother applauded Orange County police for arresting Woodward on Twitter.

“Finally,” she wrote. “My thoughts are: Revenge is empty. It will never bring back my son. My only hopes are that he will never have the opportunity to hurt anyone else again and that something meaningful can come from the senseless act of Blaze’s murder. Now Do Good for Blaze Bernstein.”