Found Deceased CA - Blaze Bernstein, 19, Lake Forest, 2 Jan 2018 #4

[freebird2018]

This was a horrible accident.
Today I will pray for strength for the other family,
what pain they are feeling!
Their lives have changed forever.

 

[Staceydisem]

This was a horrible accident.
Today I will pray for strength for the other family,
what pain they are feeling!
Their lives have changed forever.

Accident?

 

[Midge Montana]

This was a horrible accident.
Today I will pray for strength for the other family,
what pain they are feeling!
Their lives have changed forever.

I'm interested in your accident theory. In what way could this be accidental and if it really was, why in the world would you conceal the body instead of call 911? I understand being scared. I am just curious how many bodies that are found buried are actually found to stem from a true accident.
I can't imagine an accident that would make the person involved conceal the body, and make up a whole elaborate scenario that is chock full o' lies (IMO).

 

[R.U.Kidding!]

I think the alibi was literally made up as the police were questioning him. Otherwise he could have come up with an alibi that is just difficult to verify because it doesn't involve being around other people, such as "I was at home watching TV" or "I was going for a drive to clear my head" or "I was sleeping" or something.

No one in his family saw him home between 10 pm and 4am?

 

[FreeRoad]

I just joined and have given most of the BB commentary a thorough look. I suspect this murder will be solved eventually, probably sooner rather than later. In the meantime, I do want to raise an issue that (as far as I can tell) was not extensively discussed yet.

BB left his wallet, keys, glasses and meds at home, suggesting (it has been said), BB expected to be away for a relatively short time. This could be part of it, but I'm curious about how this relates to BB's expectations of the encounter, and possible 'defensive' preparations in the event that the individual(s) he expected to meet cause problems. The glasses and meds may not be such a big deal, but if BB was concerned about any shadiness on the part of his hookup, he might leave keys and wallet behind, to safeguard both himself and his family.

Speaking personally, if I were truly meeting an old high school bud for a 'catch up' while home on break, I would likely bring my keys and wallet with me, as I generally feel undressed without them, at least while away from home, and I think most people would. If there was indeed a third person, and the driver checks out OK by LE, then it suggests that the 'third man' , if he did exist, was a total stranger to BB.

Another thing: if the driver were truly an old high school bud the family knew, why not just have him stop by the house and knock on the door, prior to getting in the car. I'm sure this will become clearer once LE releases info on the identity of the driver and the history of his relationship with BB, but in the meantime I suspect it is an important angle on this. Based on what we know now, BB appears to have slipped out of the house surreptitiously, which adds a bit of darkness to the proceedings. He was keeping things totally secret, or anticipated the possibility - however remote - of something untoward.

:welcome:

I don't post often, as I don't feel I have any factual information to add. And I don't now...but have had these thoughts in my head for days, and don't know what to do with them. :thinking:

When it was still an active search for Blaze (late last week) I was torn about my reaction to Blaze's parents statements about what Blaze would and wouldn't do. To my ears, they were speaking in absolutes about their son's behavior and emotions, and I remember from my own 20s (decades ago) that my parents did not know everything, or even most things, about my emotional life, activity at college, etc. So hearing that "Blaze would never just take off" wasn't completely convincing to me. I thought he could have needed a break to think, especially if he was in conflict with his parents desires about which direction his future should go. But his mother seemed insistent that he wouldn't leave all personal items behind, and that did in fact seem logical.

But now, after days of reading and listening, I am having a persistent feeling that Blaze may have in fact, never made any plans to go anywhere with anybody. We don't know what was said on Snapchat in the hours/days/weeks before his disappearance; I can easily imagine a situation in which a person (who apparently did NOT know at least Blaze's address) would come by to pick up something from Blaze. A book, an item borrowed years ago, an article of unwanted clothing or old electronics or sports equipment, old letters, any object, really. I can imagine Blaze thinking he was running out to the driveway to hand something off. And then, either he gets in the car to just talk for a minute (maybe to avoid cold air or rain or insects in the night?) or is forcibly pulled into the vehicle (maybe more than one person was present in the car?)

I don't know what I expect anyone else to do with my thoughts. :dunno: I just am stuck on the idea that Blaze may have never intended to go anywhere with anyone that night. I don't know how that might impact our sleuthing. Your sleuthing, since I don't seem to contribute much. :kickcan:

I do appreciate all of your insights. I learn a lot. :tyou:

 

[DeeMcky]

I don't think even the dumbest criminal would kill a person in a park then take the body somewhere else for a couple of days and then creep back into the same park he just killed the person in...in the midst of a search for that person and hide the body back where he originally killed him. The dogs just missed him.

Your probably right. I figured he panicked and didn't know what to do. We (my family and I live nearby the crime) were perplexed as to how he wasn't found sooner.

I can't wrap my head around this either! How did the dogs not pick up a scent if BB had been there the entire time? And if he had been moved there after the search -- what kind of perpetrator could be so bold as to return to the scene of the crime to bury the body? Just not making sense to me at all.

As some other sleuths mentioned, it has happened in other cases (not finding a person so close by) and the rain somehow helped.

If it was a shallow grave and heavy rains partially uncovered the body, I wonder if an odor is what caused them to search again in that location.

Dogs picked up on the scent or he was seen by LE (visually). Thanks to the rain he was found.

In regards to the searchers missing his body I used to think the same thing until I went camping in a local mining town a few days after a woman went missing from the campground (she had Alzheimers and wandered off while her husband was in the shower.) Dozens and dozens of LE, professional SAR, dogs, mounted SAR and volunteers searched for weeks (it was a pretty big deal because her daughter was marred to a famous musician.) I couldn't believe the amount of people in the area searching; it really was incredible. She was eventually found, almost 2 months later, a very, very short distance from the campground she wandered away from. Unfortunately, it isn't too uncommon for searchers to miss bodies when they are searching, especially if they are concealed.

Thank you for clarifying this with another case example. We live nearby and family live in the same neighborhood. Been to the library and park on several occasions. We were dumbfounded by where they found him.

 

[DizzyB]

:. But his mother seemed insistent that he wouldn't leave all personal items behind, and that did in fact seem logical.

But now, after days of reading and listening, I am having a persistent feeling that Blaze may have in fact, never made any plans to go anywhere with anybody. I can imagine Blaze thinking he was running out to the driveway to hand something off. And then, either he gets in the car to just talk for a minute (maybe to avoid cold air or rain or insects in the night?) or is forcibly pulled into the vehicle (maybe more than one person was present in the car?)
:

Never thought about it that way. It is definitely another angle to consider-could Blaze have run out of the house for a quick moment to give someone something, or exchange something with another person?

 

[siliconrod]

On Wed. the OCSO stated it had issued search warrant in Newport Beach. On Thu. it stated it had issued 3 search warrants. I am curious if the one issued Wed is part of the 3 discussed on Thu or separate. Have the persons or property listed on warrants been released to public yet.

 

[PrairieWind]

Her is the thing, we really do not know if the 'Hobby Lobby, pick-up by friend, meeting a second friend is the true story'

Seems to me , as was mentioned above, if the friend was truly a HS classmate:
Why go to Hobby Lobby parking lot for get-together

When did Blaze make arrangements with the Other friend and why did he have to meet him IN the park.

They had a car , they could go anywhere , The driver friend also knew this third person, why not just pick him up too. Why wait until you are "catching up" and then mention "our friend is meeting us IN the park, You wait in the car, while I go in to see him" Wouldn't the driver want to see him too?

Does a Friend really want to get together and catch up with you in a Hobby Lobby parking lot?

Some one must have missed the Driver Friend , He was gone from 10 to at least 4am
.
Why was all of this so secretive for Blaze and the driver friend they had to sneak around.
Blaze was 19 years old, old enough and open enough to let his parents know, borrow their car, or just walk the five minutes to the Park?

This is why I have to believe this "story" is highly unlikely.

R.U.

You make some good points. Free Road sort of alluded to some of the same. So far almost all of what we have been going on regarding the events of that night, as far as i know, have all come from the mouth of the driver. So its possible none of that stuff happened, or very little. Is there anything independent to verify that the driver and Blaze agreed to go out, that they went to Hobby Lobby, when they went to the park? I would think there is likely surveillance footage from Hobby Lobby parking lot, but who knows.

The fact that Blaze didn't tell his parents he was going out indicates to me that he didn't intend to be out for more than a few minutes or that he was going out and didn't want them to know. I really wish I had more time to go back to the beginning of this (before I became interested in it) and sort of catch up.

 

[Sillybilly]

Please do not bring information in from other sites that may relate to another person.

Posts or links related to individuals with the same surname will be removed unless you know for sure that the person with the same surname as BB is in fact BB.

:tyou:

 

[eucalyptuz]

Slightly OT but relevant:
It is kind of frightening, in a "Black Mirror" or "The Circle" kind of way, to watch this case play out across all of the different resources available to a sleuther. And at times like this I'm grateful for the relative sanity and restraint on Websleuths.
One MSM story in particular was really alarming as it reported on people following internet clues to turn up in the street address of a person identified in a forum as being the driver. WTF? Why would anybody do this? Even if they were just having a look-see, I think it is not hard to see how quickly this could turn into a mob-mentality, lynch squad.

 

[Elley Mae]

Iirc the friend was driving the leased/rental? Don’t they have tracking/onstar?

 

[SleuthDr]

You make some good points. Free Road sort of alluded to some of the same. So far almost all of what we have been going on regarding the events of that night, as far as i know, have all come from the mouth of the driver. So its possible none of that stuff happened, or very little. Is there anything independent to verify that the driver and Blaze agreed to go out, that they went to Hobby Lobby, when they went to the park? I would think there is likely surveillance footage from Hobby Lobby parking lot, but who knows.

The fact that Blaze didn't tell his parents he was going out indicates to me that he didn't intend to be out for more than a few minutes or that he was going out and didn't want them to know. I really wish I had more time to go back to the beginning of this (before I became interested in it) and sort of catch up.

DNA, possibly blood at the scene, leads to the question of a violent weapon. If Free Road is on to something, perhaps BB was coerced into the vehicle at gunpoint. The other alternative, as I mentioned, is that BB's intended meetings had a potential dark side so he left his valuables behind intentionally. A drug deal or a sexual encounter with an online stranger would fall into those categories. The latter is consistent with Grindr activity, the former might be checked by noting ATM cash transactions, if BB had any. (I am less inclined to think drugs, but who knows. We know he took meds of some sort. Was he self-medicating on the side with recreational drugs?)

Either way, I think it's significant that BB left these items at home, intentionally or not.

 

[curiosityscat]

When it comes to Blaze leaving all his stuff at home, one scenario comes to my mind...

**JUST AN EXAMPLE!!**

...Blah-blah-blah-Blah...
FRIEND: Hey Blaze, come take a ride with me & we'll catch up..

BLAZE: Where to?

FRIEND: No where dude, just riding around in my car so we can catch up, it'll only take a couple minutes and I'll drop you back..

BLAZE: Cool, pick me up at XYZ o'clock or pick me up in 15 minutes..

FRIEND & BLAZE in car, without Blaze thinking to bring his stuff..(since they we just going to take a ride around the neighborhood, and he doesn't expect to even get out of the car except back at his house, etc..)

Before anyone says the above scenario couldn't happen..*laughs* My friends and I did this type of stuff all the time when we were young..(pop by someone's house and they jump in and ride around for a few minutes & you drop them back), and while you might grab your keys (because there might be no one home or up to open the door), if you knew your door was unlocked (or usually was), and/or that your mum or dad were going to be home...likely you wouldn't take your keys either..you'll only be gone for 10-15 min? Right..*winks*...

All of the above are just my own thoughts, views, opinions, theories, and Big Fish Stories, etc...Unless a URL/website is listed or a source is referred to herein or elsewhere...


The TRUTH WILL OUT!, and There will be a Reckoning, in this Life or the Next!

 

[PrairieWind]

Iirc the friend was driving the leased/rental? Don’t they have tracking/onstar?

I don't know that OnStar can provide historical tracking information. Some rental agencies have trackers, but again not sure what the parameters of those systems are. I think it mostly just provides a current location so they can recover the car if its not returned. Not sure however.

Along these lines, and this has probably been addressed already, do we know when the driver obtained this rental car? Is it the car he was driving the night Blaze went missing? I have been a bit confused about some of this.

 

[stlrfninca]

Slightly OT but relevant:
It is kind of frightening, in a "Black Mirror" or "The Circle" kind of way, to watch this case play out across all of the different resources available to a sleuther. And at times like this I'm grateful for the relative sanity and restraint on Websleuths.
One MSM story in particular was really alarming as it reported on people following internet clues to turn up in the street address of a person identified in a forum as being the driver. WTF? Why would anybody do this? Even if they were just having a look-see, I think it is not hard to see how quickly this could turn into a mob-mentality, lynch squad.

Yeah, I totally know what you mean, and get you on the mob mentality thing.

But the girl in the story said she was a childhood friend of Blaze, so I can understand why she would be compelled to go that far. I'm not sure I wouldn't act the same way in her place. As I'm sure the people on this site know, these things can take quite a mental toll on the family and even friends of the victim.

 

[MsFacetious]

I don't know that OnStar can provide historical tracking information. Some rental agencies have trackers, but again not sure what the parameters of those systems are. I think it mostly just provides a current location so they can recover the car if its not returned. Not sure however.

Along these lines, and this has probably been addressed already, do we know when the driver obtained this rental car? Is it the car he was driving the night Blaze went missing? I have been a bit confused about some of this.

I believe you are right about rental tracking, I think it's just used if it's not returned. We do not know how long he had the rental. We only know he was driving that when the cops talked to him. They haven't specified if he was also driving it when Blaze went missing.

 

[shyness]

I don't know that OnStar can provide historical tracking information. Some rental agencies have trackers, but again not sure what the parameters of those systems are. I think it mostly just provides a current location so they can recover the car if its not returned. Not sure however.

Along these lines, and this has probably been addressed already, do we know when the driver obtained this rental car? Is it the car he was driving the night Blaze went missing? I have been a bit confused about some of this.

No, there has been nothing released about when the rental car was obtained

 

[callyn]

Couldn't blood evidence be from scrapings from under Blaze's fingernails? I'm thinking of strangulation and struggle to pull assailant's hands away from neck and scratching assailant's hands and getting blood under nails.ETA: Sorry if this has been covered I just got here today.

 

[curiosityscat]

Sheriff in the press conference indicated they believe he had been in the park since the murder and therefore the body wasn't moved (SNIP-SNIP)

Someone else on WS earlier today mentioned an article supposedly listed here on WS, I haven't researched it as yet, that stated there was another PC by LE, and something about school video or some such, that indicated he was moved..*shrugs* [emoji1325]
2 ppl so far have mentioned it here on WS, so I assume there is an article here waiting for me to find the link to it...Anyways, just fyi..that's the Feedback I got this AM regarding if the body was possibly moved & I stated what you just did, about being found after rain due to rains unearthing the body...🤷🏻..


The TRUTH WILL OUT!, and There will be a Reckoning, in this Life or the Next!