Bernstein was Jewish, gay, quick-witted and smart, and with a large circle of friends. The sentencing hearing was held without Woodward appearing in court.

Samuel Lincoln Woodward was found guilty in July for the death of 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein, whose body was found days after he went missing, stabbed over 28 times and buried in a shallow grave at a Lake Forest Park.

A California man convicted of stabbing to death a gay University of Pennsylvania student in an act of hate is expected to be sentenced to life in prison

A Newport Beach man has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the anti-LGBTQ and antisemitic hate crime killing of his former classmate, Blaze Bernstein. KTLA's Sandra Mitchell hears from the victim's family and has more from inside the courtroom.

Samuel Lincoln Woodward faces life in prison without the possibility of parole for fatally stabbing 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein six years ago.

Samuel Woodward, who is now 27, is scheduled to be sentenced in a Southern California courtroom for the murder of Blaze Bernstein nearly seven years ago. There is no question about the sentence Woodward will receive because the jury’s verdict carries a life sentence without parole,