Samuel Woodward, who espoused anti-gay rhetoric and had ties to Atomwaffen, a neo-Nazi group, stabbed his victim 28 times in a hate-fueled murder, prosecutors said.

This was a hate crime," Blaze Bernstein’s mother, Jeanne Pepper, told the court. “Samuel Woodward ended my son’s life because my son was Jewish and gay.”

Samuel Woodward, then 21, was driven by 'pure hate and rage' over his victim's sexual orientation and religious beliefs, the judge says.

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.

The trial was delayed for years due to questions surrounding Woodward’s mental health. In late 2022, he was found competent to stand trial.

A California man found guilty of murdering a gay, Jewish US university student in a hate crime has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Samuel Woodward, 27, was convicted in July for the 2018 death of Blaze Bernstein,

A California man convicted of stabbing to death a gay University of Pennsylvania student in an act of hate was sentenced Friday to life without parole in prison.

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.