Found Deceased CA - Blaze Bernstein, 19, Lake Forest, 2 Jan 2018 #5 *Arrest*

[asfx1001]

Niner, the same happens to me -currently working in Bulgaria- I get either the message "Page can't be displayed" or "Not available for your country"- but I do not know the reason why :thinking: I can only watch Youtube videos, SM but very few official documents if posted on a US site.

I'm pretty sure this is a feature, web services for local governments in the USA block foreign IP addresses. It just makes their job a lot easier and there could be some law in the books about it, I forget.

I did see a comment from SW in the confederate flag discussion to the effect (paraphrasing) that the rainbow flag did not stand for 'fisting' and sexual activities that are fringe. When I first read that, I almost took it as SW self-identifying as gay and implying 'we're not all like that' (or at least it sounded reasonably sympathetic). As with so many elements of this very fresh case, two faces seem to present themselves.

A relationship between the two of them in freshman-sophomore year implies age 14-15, which is really young. Again possible, but I hope some reliable details come out of this for verification, as it could impact the crime of passion vs hate crime debate.

Oh wow... that is, complicated. Maybe he saw himself as gay and conservative and was trying to present gay lifestyle as being wholesome and that not everyone is into extreme stuff. The fact that he said 'we" would be a really big deal, even tho I know you are paraphrasing.

Honestly at this point I am 50/50. If it was pre-meditated, it could definitely become a hate crime. But... most of all I got offended when someone compared this guy to Dylan Roof. I guess its because of the haircut, but they specifically said social media presence like Roof.

I am sorry but unless we see similar "glory" photo poses with guns like Roof did, then no its not quite the same social media presence. Oh and we'd also need a written manifesto and a belief in race war ideology. We don't have much of any of that to suggest he is like Roof, in fact all we have is the haircut and old social media posts, and the allegations that both of the victim and the suspect were homosexual in one way or another.

 

[R.U.Kidding!]

We may never be able to determine BB's mindset prior to this meet-up, but I am curious about multiple facets of this. If I were meeting someone to get caught up etc etc and had the slightest inkling there might be issues - or the individual invites negative connotations from previous experience (in high school, etc) - I would have simply met in public during the day - mall (if they exist anymore), fast food etc.

A lot will hinge on just how BB ended up in the park at 11 PM. If he left important personal items behind (keys, wallet), as we have previously discussed briefly, it could have been 1) a concern for personal safety, therefore hedging a bit, or 2) the expectation of a brief encounter, for whatever purpose.

If BB were at all concerned for his own safety that evening, I am curious as to why he would enter a secluded region of a closed park at night, unless he was coerced. As for SW, as things unfold, I am curious as to any evidence of premeditation.

Ya know we cannot believe he ever walked into the park--where the scratches came it was all the Cover story.
The dirt is self explanatory .

As I mentioned before, I believe BB knew SW from a previous relationship/ sexual encounter. That was the secret and why he is not telling parents rather just sneaking out to meet this guy--see what he has to say.

So lets say he gets BB to meet him by picking him up , they went somewhere to talk. SW wanted to pick-up where they were before, BB didn't. They argued and BB was killed . Where......somewhere OTHER than the Park and brought there after the killing to hide the body.
SW is the only who told us "his cover-up story" who knows what really took place or where. This will all be re- written when the truth comes out.

 

[whitelilac]

I have looked. I've seen the confederate flag (where he defended himself as not a racist) and that he said if he was stranded on an island he would want a gun and a bible. Definitely an edgy conservative teenager, I'm not seeing anything close to Dylan Roof level social media. To be fair the only thing I missed so far was the homophobic internet comments by SW, I have not seen those.

I am, however, a resident in Orange County and have friends who attended that high school. Word travels fast and BB and SW are believed to have had a relationship. Its even mentioned in the MSM that it was a "friendship or relationship", I'll try to find the quote but its from one of the articles in the past 24 hours.

Look you can't deny that saying his social media footprint is comparable to Dylan Roof is disingenuous. You can say that you get that vibe, and apparently you are right thats gays can be charged for a hate crime when trying to use the gay panic defense and getting caught as having premeditated. That is good news, but considering what I've heard from OCSA alumni who knew them both, it seems there was some connection there and it went bad around the time SW was expelled.

Is this a fact? I had not read that. Do we know why he was expelled from OCSA?

 

[prue]

Niner, the same happens to me -currently working in Bulgaria- I get either the message "Page can't be displayed" or "Not available for your country"- but I do not know the reason why :thinking: I can only watch Youtube videos, SM but very few official documents if posted on a US site.

I'm in the US and just looked for that presser myself. It appears to have been scrubbed by MSN sources (or at least deeply buried). A very poor quality video still exists on OCSD facebook page.

 

[R.U.Kidding!]

If they are just scratches on the hands could be explained by saying he got them when he was digging around in the brush.

Thank you, Busy Lady, we know where the dirt came from, right. Depends on where the scratches are. If they match BB's wounds they could still have gotten there during rough sex, eh?

 

[RainCheck]

A crime of passion vs a hate crime can be one in the same. As I posted earlier, Mercedes Willamson's killer was her exboyfriend. It didn't stop him from being convicted of a hate crime when he reacted impulsively after his two year relationship with a transgendered girl was exposed to his fellow gang members. He murdered his ex transgendered lover by luring her for a date, driving her to the woods, then chasing her down as she attempted to flee and beating her to death with a hammer.

If SW was Blaze's lover at some point, it might be even more likely this was a hate crime considering what SW's recent political views were. Possibly a passionate hate crime against someone he blamed for his own proclivities as Josh Vallum did Mercedes Williamson. I think it's a possibility.

 

[pamelado2]

I know that. But I thought he came forward with his version of events before any of that.

Is he knew GPS would put him there, he may have brought it up 1st. Or maybe it was the Snapchat message Blazes parents read.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[whitelilac]

Someone very early on, in the first thread, stated that he/she believed the driver was responsible and that this would turn out to be a relationship drama. I think the poster was right.

 

[Auntisemantic]

Can someone help? Every time I click "reply" or "quote" it tries to quote Gooddeeds quote about the hoodie? 😐

 

[Gussified]

Is this a fact? I had not read that. Do we know why he was expelled from OCSA?

Do we know THAT he was expelled from OCSA? (hoping I didn’t imply that)

 

[prue]

I heard on the news radio that they're waiting on autopsy to rule on the COD, so I am guessing it's probably something like strangulation; as stab wounds would be obvious.

Unless a large predator or other opportunistic feeders made the cause of death less obvious. The location he was found has among the highest incidence of mountain lion sightings and human interactions in the State. sorry to be graphic

 

[Auntisemantic]

True, prue. I didn't think about that.

 

[RainCheck]

Yes, of course, I agree SW's social media presence, so far, is not as prolific as Dylann Roof but they're different people. I'm not saying SW is exactly like DR only that I see shades of DR in SW. A similar personality profile.

I'm not sure what's going on with the quoting. I'm skipping it because it's only allowing me to multiple quote and then I have to go back and erase every single quote I've ever quoted before.

 

[JazzTune]

It really is.

Btw, I've found a lot of dysfunction in the lives of about of mental health professionals.

( RSBM )

Do I hear someone ringing my bell here?

I don't want to come across as defensive, but I can't let this pass without speaking up again. Don't want to be redundant either, as I explained much of my personal motivation to go into Psychiatric Nursing in a post that is on the first page of the last thread.

I'm not sure if you were following the case though at that time. ( I remember you posting that some one had alerted you to this case, but it may have been after my post. )

So I want to summarize my experience in case you're not aware. I can't speak for all mental health professionals, but I think my situation mirrors many others.

I worked on an adult in-patient, locked psychiatric unit of a regular hospital for fifteen years. I was the Charge Nurse for the last seven.

Prior to that I worked in the Emergency Department for ten years. We had many psychiatric patients in crisis, especially those with schizophrenia.

I grew up with a mentally ill father. He died long before there was any real help available. As a child I had no understanding. It wasn't until I was going through my psychiatric rotation in nursing that I finally could see how sick my father had been. I 'saw' him in so many of my ER patients.

I could no longer help him but I could help them. That was my motivation.

My co-workers had similar stories. A loved one of theirs was mentally ill and they wanted to understand it better to be able to help.

Since mental illness touches so many other people besides the person affected, I don't think it's off the mark to say that you have a good point. That some mental health professionals may have more than their share of psychological dysfunction.

Growing up and walking on eggshells with every interaction with my father had a profound effect on my ability to trust others.

But I also developed a keen awareness of how to reach and connect to him when he was at his sickest point.

Something a child should not have to learn, but yet it became a very strong skill for me in interacting with hospitalized mentally ill patients.

I saw this same innate skill in most of my co-workers. We had all lived with it, and we learned valuable communication tools. Not something I'd ever recommend for any child, but in our case I believe we were the strongest of survivors.

We all had intensive education and training before setting foot on our unit. Yet we also brought our own selves with all of our prior experiences. So, I don't think it's hard to see where anyone in mental health could also be needing help at some point.

We had some mental health professionals as patients. A couple of psychiatrists, therapists, and nurses. ( We had lots of nurses from all specialties. )

We had doctors, and attorneys. People from every walk of life.

Mental health problems do not discriminate. There are as many reasons why they can turn up on anyone's doorstep as there are people.

Life is really difficult for so many.

Don't mean to harp on you, gitana. I really enjoy your posts and expertise so much!

I'm not upset at your sentiment expressed either. It's not unusual; I've heard it many times. As I said, I do believe there's some truth in it too.

I hope my explanation may help a little...



JMO

 

[Gussified]

I can ask but I highly doubt they want to bother with internet stuff, let alone something as terrible as commenting on this crime.

Yes to be fair it is possible they misinterpret black chevy tahoes as FBI, or its possible they are FBI.

The victim's family is an important member of the local Jewish community, the chairman of one of the groups. So there are two potential hate-crime angles here, the homophobia as well as anti-semitism. This FBI involvement probably started before they had evidence on the suspect, as they didn't know how political versus how personal this may have been.

To be fair we really still don't know, but clearly they had some kind of personal connection and knew each other.

Oh no, the part I meant (I even snipped for clarity) was the assertion that BB and SW were in a relationship at some point. I’ve seen speculation but no confirmed source. If you know someone who can confirm this, it’d be great. Otherwise I just take it as internet rumor.

 

[curiosityscat]

Can someone help? Every time I click "reply" or "quote" it tries to quote Gooddeeds quote about the hoodie? [emoji52]

Not really "help" persay, but my Tapatalk has been going crazy for the last day or so..

it did the same thing to me yesterday )m(insert someone else's post), one I never clicked.

It posts my posts under the page I'm in at the time, not at the end (last) post. Then when I flip to the end post it will reinsert my post at the end.

My notifications show comments, but none will be *new* when I look at the end post, then I do a refresh and there's a 50/50 chance a new post (or a whole lot of new posts) will show up.

Also, It is inserting a whole bunch of spaces before it inserts my signature line. I got sick of deleting them so I turned the option off.

And it isn't recognizing my "Thanks", I thank someone, it shows up, then I'll go read another page or whatever, and a few moments later, there may be another persons Thank, but mine no longer shows up, or even if no one Thanked, my Thank still disappears.

The following is what I recommend (I'll be doing the same once I do my iOS (operating system) update:

1) Be sure to clear your phone's "cache"
2) check for updates to Tapatalk (where ever you do so on your phone) Do an update if one shows available
3) Uninstall/Reinstall the Tapatalk App

GOOD LUCK!!

 

[prue]

I can ask but I highly doubt they want to bother with internet stuff, let alone something as terrible as commenting on this crime.

Yes to be fair it is possible they misinterpret black chevy tahoes as FBI, or its possible they are FBI.

The victim's family is an important member of the local Jewish community, the chairman of one of the groups. So there are two potential hate-crime angles here, the homophobia as well as anti-semitism. This FBI involvement probably started before they had evidence on the suspect, as they didn't know how political versus how personal this may have been.

To be fair we really still don't know, but clearly they had some kind of personal connection and knew each other.

To suggest another angle, if this siting is indeed accurate, could another agency's involvement also possibly suggest an extortion motivation and that the victim's proximal familial status is more elevated than first presumed?

 

[Jonesjones]

It's possible they had a romantic relationship. However, as I said, even if they did it doesn't mean it wasn't a hate crime. SW seems to have latched on to some extreme political ideologies and if he is in fact closeted and self hating, I'd think it even more likely he'd kill an ex lover to some how atone for what he sees as a past failings.

As far as his social media footprint goes, it's very early on and there may be much more to it than we have seen. What we do know is he posted pictures of himself with the Confederate flag and made reference to the gay pride flag under that picture, made references to the gun and the Bible and referenced torture. What we do not know is if he had a romantic relationship with Blaze, but again considering what we do know about his social media presence, it will not surprise me if there is a hate crime angle exposed soon.

<modsnip>I also have wondered if they hadn&#8217;t spent any time together over the holiday other than that one night. I don&#8217;t think B.B. was fearful of him, especially if they were in a relationship previously. Also, it&#8217;s easy to get swept back into a past relationship that is somewhat familiar. And SW was said to be dark, quiet and a loner - some people are attracted to that personality type. As others have mentioned, SW is not unattractive. I think B.B. went willingly. LE mentioned they went to several locations. We don&#8217;t know what locations they are, other than, possibly Hobby Lobby. Dinner, convenient store? We don&#8217;t know yet. I think if they did in fact end up at HL before the park, they may have wanted more privacy and decided on the park where an argument ensued - maybe over their prior relationship, maybe over SW not wanting to come out, maybe over B.B. going back to school, maybe over a current relationship. I really don&#8217;t feel like it was pre-meditated. I think things escalated quickly. It seemed not well thought out at all. Sloppy. But, we do know that SW took his life.

As as far as B.B. not having his keys or wallet - honestly, I don&#8217;t find that strange. If they were just planning on hanging out for a couple of hours he wouldn&#8217;t necessarily need a wallet (he wasn&#8217;t driving) and maybe there is a key pad on the garage or doors or he went out of his window.

Eother way, the whole thing is tragic. Two families lives are turned completely upside down. It&#8217;s heartbreaking.

I could be completely off here, but JMO.

 

[sequences]

It's not my job to prove anything, I'm not the local DA or involved in investigating and prosecuting federal hate crimes. I believe as an individual lay person looking at the circumstances of the crime SW's online presence is similar to Dylann Roof's. SW posted pictures of himself in front of the Confederate flag and made remarks leading people to believe he was violent and angry. I would think Blaze's friends and family would want his killer prosecuted to the full extend of the law including hate crime charges if it is determined he targeted Blaze for being gay and/or Jewish.

How dos anyone know SW posted Confederate flag photo? How does anyone know SW choose Confederate flag background? What was photo location?

What is known? Blaze & Sam attending Orange County School of the Arts. Studies include plays. Confederate flag photo could have been from a play. Sam researching acting part to understand character seeing Confederate flag as Southern Pride. A proud family member posting photo as accomplishments, a lead role in a play. Sam reading hurtful "racist" responses posting photo showing lead role & "intelligence" research leading to learning "things" have more than "one" meaning.

 

[ElementalLaura]

Regarding Snapchat, it was mentioned that the parents were able to log in to his account and see his last contact. If you go into Snapchat and click on the messages icon. It brings you to a page where you can see the latest contacts. When you open a contact, the messages are gone. So I believe in the press conference the sheriff said the parents checked his Snapchat and then contacted Sam.

Yes. Blaze's mother also said several times early on that the family was extremely frustrated that they couldn't get the content of the communications.

There's some discussion here as to how accurately the media has parsed the difference between Snapchat and text/SMS. If Blaze did text Woodward his home address, that would be another easily obtained linkage, even without the content.