SANTA ANA, Calif. (WTXF/AP) - Prosecutors have announced charges in the stabbing death of a University of Pennsylvania student who was found dead in a Southern California park.
A murder charge has been filed against Samuel Woodward, 20, after a complaint filed in Orange County Superior Court Wednesday morning alleges Woodward used a knife to kill 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein.
Authorities say Bernstein was visiting his parents during his college's winter break when he went to a park with Woodward Jan. 2. His body was found in a shallow grave there a week later. Woodward has arrested soon after.
Investigators say Bernstein was stabbed nearly two dozen times.
Woodward was originally questioned by police earlier in the week and a sheriff's investigator wrote in court filings that Woodward appeared nervous, had scratched hands and dirt under his fingernails, and avoided touching doors with his hands while leaving the sheriff's office building.
Report: Death of UPenn student investigated as act of rage
In an affidavit obtained by the Orange County Register, Woodward told investigators he was angry after Bernstein kissed him the night they went to the park.
Bernstein's parents say the killing may have been a hate crime against their gay son.