Family of California teen killed in hate crime attack stand up for their son: "Blaze's life mattered"

This story originally aired on Sept. 21, 2024. It was updated on June 28, 2025.  GIDEON BERNSTEIN (phone call with Sam Woodward): "And we just cracked into his Snap account and saw that – that you had been, uh, trying to find him. So you're the first real clue to the, to the puzzle here." SAM WOODWARD (phone call): "I picked him up at 11." GIDEON BERNSTEIN (phone call): "OK. And then did he get out of the car, or what happened?" SAM WOODWARD: "I shouted out, 'Blaze! Blaze! …  But I didn't see anything. I – I didn't hear anything." SAM WOODWARD (phone call): "It was more of a spur of the moment kind of thing … 'Yeah, dude, let's hang out' … since he and I were friends when we were at OCSA." GIDEON BERNSTEIN (phone call):  OK. So, is this the best number to reach you at? SAM WOODWARD (phone call): Yeah, I wanna find Blaze as much as you do.

Six years after the murder of Blaze Bernstein, his family came face to face with his killer, Sam Woodward, a former high school classmate. SAM WOODWARD: "Yeah. He got out of the car, and, uh, I got out of the car, too." SAM WOODWARD: Uh, yes, sir, it is.

KEN MORRISON (in court): The why is the single most important issue you will need to decide. Not who is responsible for the death of a young man, but exactly why he was killed six years ago.