Samuel Woodward was found guilty of first-degree murder with an aggravated hate crime for stabbing Blaze Bernstein, a gay student at the University of Pennsylvania, to death in 2018.

The verdict of a California jury on Wednesday could mean a life sentence without parole for 26-year-old Woodward.

Prosecutor Jennifer Walker pointed to the killer's ties to the so-called Atomwaffen Division, a homophobic and anti-Semitic neo-Nazi organization whose members have been linked to several other murders.

“This is a person focused on hate,” Walker said in her closing argument. “She doesn't follow, be guided, influenced or victimized by nuclear weapons – she seeks them out.”

Bernstein, a college sophomore at the time of the incident, was spending winter break at home in Southern California when he disappeared. His body was later discovered in a shallow grave in a nearby park.

He and Woodward attended the same high school in Orange County and, according to court testimony, had met on a dating app months before the attack.

Woodward admitted to picking up Bernstein and driving him to a nearby park, where he later stabbed him multiple times because he thought Bernstein was trying to take a photo of him.

The victim's body was found days later with numerous stab wounds to the face and neck. Prosecutors said a search of Woodward's family home in Newport Beach turned up a black nuclear weapon mask with traces of blood, a folding knife with a bloody blade and various homophobic and anti-Semitic materials.

Woodward's attorney, Ken Morrison, argued that his client did not plan to kill Bernstein and did not harbor hatred toward anyone.

He spoke about Woodward's upbringing in a strict Catholic family that openly criticized homosexuality, and his problems with personal relationships, which he said stemmed from a long-undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder and confusion about his sexuality.

Morrison said he planned to appeal after the verdict was announced, claiming the judge made several decisions that prevented the jury from considering crucial evidence.

With News Wire Services