LOS ANGELES _ Orange County prosecutors charged a former schoolmate of Ivy League college student Blaze Bernstein with murder on Wednesday.
Samuel Woodward, 20, was arrested Friday after DNA evidence at the crime scene in Borrego Park and inside his car tied him to the slaying, authorities said.
Woodward was charged Wednesday morning with a felony count of murder and a sentencing enhancement of personal use of a knife, said Orange County district attorney's spokeswoman Michelle Van Der Linden. If convicted, he could face 26 years to life in prison, she said.
Bernstein, 19, was reported missing Jan. 3 by his family, who became concerned after he didn't show up for a dental appointment and they found his wallet and glasses in his bedroom. He was on winter break from the University of Pennsylvania, visiting his parents in Lake Forest, when he disappeared.
Detectives used Bernstein's Snapchat account to identify Woodward, who had picked Bernstein up the night before, Orange County Undersheriff Don Barnes said Friday.
Bernstein's body was found partially buried Jan. 10 near the park, after rain runoff exposed parts of the remains.
Barnes said investigators found inconsistencies in what Woodward told authorities.
A search warrant affidavit, obtained by the Orange County Register, said that Woodward had dirty fingernails and scratches and abrasions on his hands, and could not provide the last name or address of a girlfriend he said he visited after dropping off Bernstein.
When asked about the abrasions by detectives, Woodward allegedly said that they were from a "fight club" he participated in and that his fingernails were dirty because he fell into a "dirt puddle" during sparring.
Barnes said DNA results led to Woodward's arrest. He had been under surveillance and was taken into custody after leaving his house about 1:15 p.m. Friday.
Barnes said Bernstein and Woodward had attended the same high school, identified in the warrant as the Orange County School of the Arts.
On Tuesday, Bernstein said it's possible their son was the victim of a hate crime.
Gideon Bernstein and Jeanne Pepper Bernstein wrote in an email to The Times that "our son was a beautiful gentle soul who we loved more than anything. We were proud of everything he did and who he was. He had nothing to hide. We are in solidarity with our son and the LGBTQ community."
They noted the investigation was continuing. "If it is determined that this was a hate crime, we will cry not only for our son, but for LGBTQ people everywhere that live in fear or who have been victims of (a) hate crime," they wrote.
