A man in California is now sentenced to life for a hate-crime murder without the possibility of parole, an Orange County court ruled Friday.
A 27-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Friday in an Orange County courtroom for the 2018 hate-crime murder of his former classmate, who was gay.
Samuel Lincoln Woodward was convicted in July for the killing of 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein, whose body was discovered days after he went missing.
Bernstein had been stabbed over 28 times and buried in a shallow grave at a park in Lake Forest.
The sentencing hearing was delayed for about five hours, partly because Woodward refused to appear in court.
He also left the courtroom during the victim impact statements.
DNA evidence connected Woodward to the crime, and authorities found extensive anti-gay, antisemitic, and hate group material on his cellphone.
Woodward admitted to stabbing Bernstein, a gay, Jewish man, multiple times in 2018, but pleaded not guilty to the murder charge, which included a hate crime enhancement.
The prosecution argued for a conviction of first-degree murder as a hate crime based on Bernstein’s sexual orientation, while the defense contended that Woodward should be found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and not guilty of the hate crime charges.
The jury reached its decision after deliberating for just one day.
Woodward and Bernstein had attended the Orange County School of the Arts together for four years.
After graduating, Bernstein became a pre-med student at the University of Pennsylvania.
He was home on winter break visiting family when he was killed in 2018.
Local community members have been saddened by the news, sharing their thoughts online.
“Sending prayers to the family [for the] hate crime[.] I have been bullied and harassed all my life so I know how that feels and losing a child for a senseless anger issue that someone has against other people,” said one user.
“May he Burn in Hell! There’s no reason for murdering friend and destroy his family and friends because of the Hatred that he held against his former roommate and friend,” said a frustrated community member.
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