Man convicted of murdering gay classmate he met on Tinder
A California man has been convicted of the murder of a gay university student he met on the dating app Tinder.
Samuel Woodward, 26, was arrested in 2018 and on Wednesday (3 July) a jury found him guilty of the first-degree murder of 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein. He was also convicted on hate-crime charges and faces life in prison without the chance of parole.
The court heard that Woodward agreed to hook up with the Jewish teenager and took him to a park in Lake Forest, where he stabbed him 20 times before burying the body in a shallow grave. The pair had met on Tinder with Woodward previously admitting that he made the first move.
Both Woodward and Bernstein were students at the Orange County School of the Arts. Prior to that, Bernstein had a short stint as a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania.
Blaze Bernstein was murdered in 2018. (Facebook)
Woodward had links to neo-Nazi group
Woodward had dropped out of college and gone to Texas, where he connected with neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division, before moving to his parent’s home in California, The Independent reported.
Prosecutors previously said that as a member of the group, Woodward repeatedly targeted gay men online by matching with them on social dating apps before breaking off contact.
Samuel Woodward was arrested in 2018. (Allen J. Schaben/Getty)
When Woodward’s family home in Newport Beach was searched, police discovered that he and Bernstein had been chatting on social media for months. They reportedly found a bloodied folding knife and a black Atomwaffen mask with traces of blood on it.
The defence did not contest the killing but said it was not the result of hate. They argued that a long-undiagnosed autism spectrum condition meant Woodward had challenges in relationships with others and was confused by his own sexuality, especially growing up in an environment where his father openly criticised homosexuality.
The post Man convicted of murdering gay classmate he met on Tinder appeared first on PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news.
Welcome to Billionaire Club Co LLC, your gateway to a brand-new social media experience! Sign up today and dive into over 10,000 fresh daily articles and videos curated just for your enjoyment. Enjoy the ad free experience, unlimited content interactions, and get that coveted blue check verification—all for just $1 a month!
Account Frozen
Your account is frozen. You can still view content but cannot interact with it.
Please go to your settings to update your account status.
Open Profile Settings