Alleged Killer of Gay Teen 'Confused' About His Own Sexual Identity

Samuel Woodward, who's accused of stabbing Blaze Bernstein more than 20 times, recently had a hate-crime enhancement added to the murder charge.

Tracy E. Gilchrist

Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP of Editorial and Special Projects at equalpride. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.

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Tracy E. Gilchrist

August 23 2018 10:04 AM EST

August 23 2018 10:21 AM EST

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The 21-year-old man accused of murdering gay pre-med student Blaze Bernstein was confused about his own sexual identity, his attorney Edward Munoz said during a court appearance Wednesday in Orange County, Calif., according to the Los Angeles Times.

Samuel Woodward, a former classmate of Bernstein's and a member of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division, is accused of stabbing Bernstein more than 20 times and burying him in a shallow grave this January while Bernstein was on holiday break from the University of Pennsylvania. Woodward said at the time of the murder that Bernstein attempted to kiss him.

A hate-crime enhancement was added to Woodward's murder charge earlier this month.

Woodward's attorney told the court that his client not only has Asperger's syndrome, which can affect communication, but is confused about his sexuality. This week's court appearance was intended as a preliminary hearing to determine if there was enough evidence to move to trial, but consideration of that issue was rescheduled for September 4.

"There's going to be some evidence that comes out to say he's very confused" about "his own identity," Munoz said, according to the Times.

Since the hate-crime enhancement was added to the murder charge, Woodward faces a maximum sentence of life without parole as opposed to 26 years to life maximum if the enhancement had not been added.

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"All of this revealed the dark side of Woodward's thoughts and intentions," Rackauckas said.

Woodward pleaded "not guilty" to murdering Bernstein and is currently in the Orange County Jail with bail set at $5 million. He also denied the hate-crime allegation.