SANTA ANA – Prompted by the investigation into the killing of college student Blaze Bernstein, officials on Friday proposed a new bill that would expand hate crime laws in murder cases to include gay victims.
Samuel Lincoln Woodward, 20, of Newport Beach has been charged with murder for allegedly stabbing Bernstein, 19, in a Lake Forest park last month. Authorities are investigating whether the case was a hate crime.
Woodward has told authorities he met with Bernstein that night to “catch up,” according to an affidavit, and that Bernstein kissed him on the lips while the two were sitting in a parked car and he pushed Bernstein away. He also told investigators that Bernstein later exited the car and walked alone into a park.
While the sentence for murder is 25 years to life, a person could face life without parole or the death penalty if prosecutors file special-circumstance allegations.
Under current law, the special-circumstance allegations for a hate crime include victims who were killed because of their “race, color, religion, nationality or country of origin” but it does not include sexual orientation.
California Senate Bill 971, authored by state Sen. Janet Nguyen, R-Fountain Valley, would expand special-circumstance allegations to include sexual orientation or gender.
In a news conference on Friday, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said the Bernstein case highlighted the law’s “glaring omission.”
Rackauckas, however, would not say specifically whether a hate crime was a factor in Bernstein’s killing and declined to discuss details of the case.
The bill would not impact the case, he added.
“As we strive to protect all members of society, it’s a glaring omission that sexual orientation is not a protected class of crime victims of special-circumstances murder in California,” he said. “Unfortunately, laws often need to be revised in light of tragic situations.”
Sex orientation is a factor for other hate crime charges under California’s Penal Code.
Woodward, who is being held without bail, is set to be arraigned in Orange County Superior Court Friday afternoon.
Authorities have said that Woodward allegedly stabbed Bernstein, a University of Pennsylvania sophomore home for winter break, while the two were alone on the night of Jan. 2. The teen’s body was discovered a week later in a shallow grave in Borrego Park in Foothill Ranch, a short distance from the Bernstein home.
According to a news report, Woodward allegedly had ties to a neo-Nazi group called Atomwaffen Divisionton, which bills itself as a neo-Nazi, anti-Semitic and anti-government organization with about 100 members nationwide.
Bernstein, who was Jewish, had attended the Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana with Woodward. Before his death, Bernstein had told a friend in text messages that he was interested in pursuing Woodward and that he believed Woodward was “closeted,” according to the affidavit obtained by the Southern California News Group.
Bernstein’s parents have said their son’s death might have been a hate crime.
“Our son was a beautiful, gentle soul who we loved more than anything,” they said last month. “We were proud of everything he did and who he was. He had nothing to hide.
“We are in solidarity with our son and the LGBTQ community,” the Bernsteins added. “There is still much discovery to be done, and if it is determined that this was a hate crime, we will cry not only for our son, but for LGBTQ people everywhere that live in fear or who have been victims.”
