SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California man has pleaded not guilty to charges he murdered a gay University of Pennsylvania student in a hate crime.
Samuel Woodward entered the plea Friday during a hearing in Santa Ana, California.
The 21-year-old suspect is now being held without bail.
Woodward is charged in the January stabbing death of college sophomore Blaze Bernstein.
Bernstein went missing after going out with Woodward to a park in Lake Forest. His body was later found in a shallow grave in the park.
Prosecutors have said DNA evidence links Woodward to the crime and his cellphone contained troves of anti-gay, anti-Semitic and white hate group materials.
