Authorities have arrested a friend in the killing of a 19-year-old University of Pennsylvania student who was buried in a shallow grave at a Southern California park.
Orange County officials say 20-year-old Samuel Lincoln Woodward of Newport Beach was arrested Friday on suspicion of murder.
Undersheriff Don Barnes says DNA evidence links Woodward to the crime. Details of Blaze Bernstein’s death aren’t being released.
Barnes says investigators are still trying to determine a motive.
Barnes says Woodward was the last person to see Bernstein alive. Bernstein was visiting his family in Foothill Ranch during winter break when his high school friend Woodward picked him up on Jan. 2 and drove with him to several places before winding up at a neighborhood park.
Bernstein’s body was found Tuesday after recent rains partially exposed it.
Authorities say Woodward has asked for an attorney.