© 2026 ABC News

The Ivy League student's mother, Jeanne Pepper Bernstein, told ABC station KABC-TV in Los Angeles on Wednesday. \"He did a lot of things in the short time that he had.\"

\"He was really a unique kid. I was gifted with 19 years with him. It was a gift from God,\" she said. \"He taught me how to be a mother. He taught me how to love things that are different and unique and beautiful. And it's difficult sometimes to understand and rear a child that is smarter than you -- I mean, a lot smarter. He was like, in the 4th grade, I didn't enjoy playing chess with him anymore because I couldn't win.\"

\"PHOTO:
KABC
PHOTO: Gideon and Jeanne Bernstein, the parents of murdered teen Blaze Bernstein, speak to KABC in Orange County, Calif., Jan. 17, 2018.
>

\"He was always two steps ahead of me in everything,\" Pepper Bernstein said. \"He was a really good kid.\"

She added, \"We just want to see that, even though my son can't be brought back, that there is a consequence. And that as a result of whatever happened, that it won't happen again.\"

\"PHOTO:
Amy Taxin/AP
PHOTO: Gideon and Jeanne Bernstein, parents of Blaze Bernstein, are joined by Orange County Sheriff's Lt. Brad Valentine, right, during a news conference in Lake Forest, Calif. on Jan. 10, 2018.
>

Woodward, charged with murder, appeared in court Wednesday, where he was held without bail. Woodward's family was in court, watching him closely as they clutched each other. His arraignment was continued until Feb. 2.

A priest and friend of the Woodward family said Woodward was in Church “two Sunday's ago and took communion.”

Woodward’s attorney told ABC News that the family is deeply religious and that he asked for continuation because he hasn’t seen one shred of evidence yet. 

Woodward’s parents did not comment outside of court.

If convicted, the maximum sentence is 26 years to life in state prison.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/US/murder-suspect-stabbed-upenn-student-blaze-bernstein-multiple/story?id=52376868","legacySlug":"/news/story/murder-suspect-stabbed-upenn-student-blaze-bernstein-multiple-52376868","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"17:02","publishDate":"01-18-2018","updatedTime":"19:57","updatedDate":"02-20-2018","socialImage":{"alt":"Blaze Bernstein, left, and Samuel Woodward.","credit":"Orange County Sheriff's Department/AP","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/blaze-bernstein-samuel-woodward-02-ht-jef-180117_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"1/18/2018 17:02:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":52376868,"headline":"Hate crime charges not ruled out in UPenn killing","mediaAssetTitle":"upenn DA presser","description":"Samuel Woodward is accused of killing Blaze Bernstein, 19, and burying his body.","duration":"1:27","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/01/180117_wn_whitworth_640_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["133741861","133707237","133144263"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"June 10, 2026","headline":"NASA unveils Artemis III crew","section":"News","slug":"/video/133741861","id":"133741861","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: NASA unveils Artemis III crew","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: NASA unveils Artemis III crew","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"June 9, 2026","headline":"Flash flood threat as dangerous weather on the move","section":"News","slug":"/video/133707237","id":"133707237","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Flash flood threat as dangerous weather on the move","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Flash flood threat as dangerous weather on the move","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"May 20, 2026","headline":"Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","section":"News","slug":"/video/133144263","id":"133144263","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Hate crime charges not ruled out in UPenn killing","description":"Samuel Woodward is accused of killing Blaze Bernstein, 19, and burying his body.","duration":"1:27","uploadDate":"01-18-2018","publication":"01-18-2018","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/01/180117_wn_whitworth_640_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/01/180117_wn_whitworth_640_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/murder-suspect-stabbed-upenn-student-blaze-bernstein-multiple-52376868"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133929295","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133958398","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133882828","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133810954","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133779647","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133810835","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133749799","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133777519","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133748258","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133730535","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133712423","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133694181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133688738","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616358","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616342","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133522899","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133584123","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133579397","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133482839","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133390157","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"Hate crime charges not ruled out in UPenn killing","pubTime":"12:02","pubDate":"01-18-2018","modTime":"14:57","modDate":"02-20-2018","taxonomyTags":"none","id":52376868,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Hate crime charges not ruled out in UPenn killing","mediaAssetTitle":"upenn DA presser","videoId":52376868,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/murder-suspect-stabbed-upenn-student-blaze-bernstein-multiple-52376868"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/52376868","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/52376868","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};