Six years after the murder of Blaze Bernstein, his family came face to face with his killer, Sam Woodward, a former high school classmate.
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.
For Jeanne Pepper and her husband Gideon Bernstein, those six years were painfully marked by COVID delays, shifting lawyers and legal strategies.
Jeanne Pepper: Slow justice is no justice. … It’s not fair to victims and it’s not fair to the deceased.
Finally, came April 2024. Jeanne Pepper and Gideon Bernstein were more than ready for their day in court.
Jeanne Pepper: We’re impatient. We want to get on with our lives.
But not before telling the story of their first-born child, Blaze Bernstein. How he lived, and why they believe he died: murdered because of who he was. Targeted by hate.
Gideon Bernstein: It’s not safe for you to be a lot of different minorities now.
KEN MORRISON (in court): The victim in this case — and nobody disputes that he was a victim — was stabbed to death.
Ken Morrison would defend Samuel Woodward, charged with first-degree premeditated murder. Morrison squared off against Prosecutor Jennifer Walker.
JENNIFER WALKER (in court): And where we start is with who was killed. Blaze Bernstein … and he was 19 … He was gay and Jewish.
Cindy Airey
The silent, ghostly presence in the courtroom was Blaze — that slender, curious, playful young man with a big world. Images that refuse to fade.
Tracy Smith: Are there pictures or things that flash through your mind … that you think of Blaze?
Jeanne Pepper: Always. Every day.
It was just weeks after Blaze’s death that “48 Hours” first met Jeanne and Gideon. Wounds raw, they shared bittersweet memories of the son they described as magical.
Jeanne Pepper: And the first time I saw him, I looked in his eyes. … Something about this baby, he’s gonna change the world someday.
Tracy Smith: What do you miss most about Blaze?
Jeanne Pepper: His quirky personality.
Jeanne Pepper: He was different.
Gideon Bernstein: He liked to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Jeanne Pepper: I call him a unicorn … He was…
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