Blaze Bernstein's Family Appears On 48-HOURS: In The Name Of Hate

LAKE FOREST, CA - The parents of Blaze Bernstein, a brilliant Ivy League student allegedly murdered because he was gay and Jewish, talked with 48 HOURS in their first primetime interview about the loss of their son, the Neo-Nazi hate group that may have fueled anger in his alleged killer, and what they’re doing to "Blaze It Forward."

Tracy Smith sat down with Bernstein’s parents the segment entitled “In The Name of Hate” to be broadcast Nov. 10, 2018 (10:00 PM ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Smith and 48 HOURS examine the murder of Bernstein and the investigation that led his high school classmate Sam Woodward to be charged with killing the University of Pennsylvania student.

The broadcast also explores what influence a militant neo-Nazi hate group can have on a follower. The murder of Bernstein raises troubling questions concerning anti-Semitism and homophobia, issues that are at the heart of the nation’s current struggle to define itself.

“There were people congratulating this accused killer, for what he has done, killing my son,” Bernstein’s mother Jeanne Pepper Bernstein told Smith. “This was atrocious hate.”

Bernstein went missing on January 2, 2018 while on winter break from University of Pennsylvania.

His parents were unaware he left the house until the next day when he failed to make it to a dentist appointment.

They tapped into Bernstein’s social media and discovered that he met up with a former classmate, Woodward, a former classmate, now college dropout working part time and living at home.

Woodward told Bernstein’s parents and police, that he and Bernstein visited a nearby park to hang out. According to Woodward, Bernstein headed down a path alone and disappeared.

Six days after he was reported missing, Bernstein’s body was discovered buried in a shallow grave in that same park. He had been stabbed 19 times in the neck.

Soon after, Woodward was charged with murder and the personal use of a knife. Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas increased the charges to include a hate crime. Those additional charges were added due to the information that investigators discovered on Woodward’s personal computer, social media feeds and cellphone.

Woodward has pleaded not guilty. He reportedly told investigators Bernstein made unwanted advances. His attorney argued there is no basis for hate crime charges.

If what investigators say is true about the influence of a hate group on Woodward, the Bernstein case is one in a rash of hate-fueled crimes that have hit the country this year, the CBS 48 HOURS interview posits.

Smith and 48 HOURS take viewers into the world of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division, including exclusive revealing and shocking insight from an anonymous former member.

“He killed a Jew,” the former Atomwaffen Division member tells Smith, “Like was there a party? No, but like did people joke about it? Yeah. Everyone celebrated him.”

“Sam Woodward is a hater,” OCDA Tony Rackauckas said. “He hates homosexuals. He hates people who are Jewish. He hates people of all different kinds of categories who are not white.”

Bernstein’s parents say their son was a talented student and a caring person.

“He liked to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary,” says dad Gideon Bernstein.

“Something about this baby, he’s gonna change the world someday,” Jeanne Pepper Bernstein says about the birth of Blaze. “In his own way, he did change the world. He already has.”

Smith and 48 HOURS report the story through extensive, in-depth interviews with Bernstein’s friends and family, the district attorney and more.

48 HOURS: “In the Name of Hate” is produced by James Stolz and Gayane Keshishyan Mendez. Michelle Fanucci is the field producer. Grayce Arlotta-Berner, Marcus Balsam and Phil Tangel are the editors. Peter Schweitzer is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Susan Zirinsky is the senior executive producer.

Related: A Life Too Short: Blaze Bernstein Obituary

For more information on Blaze Bernstein Foundation: blazebernstein.org

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