Trial of Alleged Nazi Killer of Gay Jewish Teen Is Delayed
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Legal proceedings against Samuel Woodward, the alleged Nazi killer of gay, Jewish southern California teen Blaze Bernstein, have been delayed over questions of Woodward’s competence to stand trial.
Criminal proceedings against Samuel Woodward — who is charged with the January 2018 killing of Blaze Bernstein — are on hold until a judge determines whether Woodward is capable of understanding the court proceedings and is able to assist with his defense.
A defense attorney in mid-July raised concerns about Woodward’s mental competency, leading a judge to assign two experts — one chosen by the prosecution, the other by the defense — to evaluate Woodward.
The prosecution’s expert has submitted his report under seal, court records show. During a Thursday hearing, Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walker told a judge that the second expert reported to her that Woodward has refused to meet so the expert has been unable to finish a report.
It was unclear if the meeting was to be somewhere in the jail complex or conducted remotely.
Woodward’s mental-competency hearing was rescheduled for Oct. 21. A defense attorney plans to seek a court order allowing the mental-health expert to meet with Woodward at his cell in the Orange County Jail.
Woodward is accused of killing Bernstein when the two former Orange County School of the Arts classmates met up in January 2018. Prosecutors allege that Woodward killed Bernstein at least partly because Bernstein was gay.
The case brought national attention to the re-emergence and deadly violent Nazi organization Attomwaffen who planned to accelerate a race war in the United States.
Below, watch “In the Name of Hate,” an ABC 48 Hours news special documentary about Bernstein’s murder.
