California man sentenced to life in prison for murder of a gay college student

(NBC, KYMA/KECY) - A California man was sentenced to life in prison after the 2018 killing of a gay student.

Samuel Woodward was sentenced on Friday after stabbing a gay University of Pennsylvania student in an act of hate back in 2018.

Woodward waived his rights and did not appear in person or on Zoom for the sentencing.

Woodward was convicted this year of first-degree murder with an enhancement for a hate crime for killing Blaze Bernstein, a gay, Jewish college sophomore.

Bernstein, who only was 19, disappeared in January 2018 after he went out at night with Woodward to a park outside Los Angeles.

Days later, Bernstein's body was found in a shallow grave in the park. He had been repeatedly stabbed in the face and neck.