Samuel Woodward, a man in California found guilty for murdering his former classmate in 2018 in a hate crime, was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Blaze Bernstein—a 19-year-old gay, Jewish student at the University of Pennsylvania—disappeared while visiting his family in Newport Beach over winter break in January 2018. His body was found, after a day-long search, buried in a Lake Forest park he went to with Woodward the night he disappeared, authorities said. He had been stabbed 28 times, the prosecutor said.

Woodward, now 27, was charged with first-degree murder as a hate crime. Prosecutors had argued that Woodward murdered his high school classmate because Bernstein was gay.

In handing down the sentence during a lengthy hearing Friday, Judge Kimberly Menninger said there was evidence the defendant planned the killing and that the jury found it true that the crime was committed because of Bernstein’s sexual orientation.

Menninger also denied Woodward probation.

If the defendant is remorseful, Menninger said, “Unfortunately for the court and for the defendant, I’ve never seen any evidence of that up to this point.”

Woodward was not present at his sentencing hearing due to illness, according to Menninger.

The judge said the case is a “true tragedy”.

“You have a young man who was smart, funny, successful and headed for a bright future, with tremendous family support and a great group of friends,” she said. “You have a second, intelligent young man with lots of promise, but struggling with his sexual identity, his mental health and his loneliness and never getting the psychological support he clearly needed.”

She said it’s “really sad” that two people from the same high school found themselves on opposite ends of the culture war that “broke out in the brutal murder of Blaze Bernstein.”

“Unfortunately for Mr. Woodward, the hatred that fueled his thoughts was very confusing to this court and unfortunately reflects a larger societal disease currently ravaging the country,” she said.

Orange County Senior Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walker, who prosecuted the case, said during the hearing that the state wanted to proceed with the scheduled sentencing, despite Woodward’s illness, after bringing several people to the hearing.

Defense lawyer Ken Morrison told the court it was his preference for Woodward to be present, “no matter how difficult it would have been for him, how difficult all of this has been and continues to be for his family.”

“This is uncomfortable for everyone, hopefully mild for some, as they seek their path of healing,” he said.

The court heard several victim impact statements before the sentencing, including those delivered by Bernstein’s parents.

His mother, Jeanne Pepper, said her son was “handsome, well-liked, talented, loved and good at everything he tried – the opposite of the man who would kill him.”

She said Woodward was “too cowardly” to sit in the courtroom on Friday.

Pepper spoke of the fear she felt when her son went missing and the subsequent discovery of his body.

“I had to go to a cemetery with a broken heart and choose a grave for my 19-year-old son,” she said. “I couldn’t believe this was true.”

She said she “collapsed on the ground screaming” when she learned he had been stabbed 28 times and that her health was deteriorating after his murder.

“Losing my firstborn child, my dream for the future, my partner in fun, is the single worst, most painful thing that has happened to me,” she said.

She remembered Bernstein as an incredible cook and writer, who had a beautiful singing voice and wanted to go to medical school.

While Woodward remains in prison, she said they will be outside celebrating Bernstein’s life and “continuing to do good with others who work every day to make this world more caring, kind and safe for the Jewish and LGBT communities. “

“Let’s be clear — this was a hate crime,” she said. “Sam Woodward ended my son’s life because my son was Jewish and gay.”

His father, Gideon Bernstein, said his death led to the “darkest and most tragic days” for his family and friends.

“The person responsible for this should have been in this room today,” he said. “He is guilty of disrupting the path to a bright future for Blaze, and yet I don’t think he realizes how many others he destroyed along the way.”

He said living a good life “is the best revenge I can have after this crime,” and urged the judge to impose a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

After their statements, Menninger reiterated that Woodward was not in court due to an illness.

Bernstein’s godmother, Hillary Gerber, prayed that Woodward would never be released from prison.

“Not a day goes by without the pain and loss of Blaze weighing on us,” Gerber said. “Knowing that this was a deliberate, premeditated act only deepens our grief, suffering and fear.”

Woodward faced life without the possibility of parole with the special circumstance of the hate crime.

The defense asked the judge to strike the hate crime enhancement, while arguing that there is a lesser hate crime enhancement the court can impose. Morrison said he asked for a sentence of 28 years to life in his sentencing.

Morrison said he was “wrestling with how to proceed” during the hearing because there is a pending motion by the prosecutor’s office to seal his warrant.

Menninger said she has read his brief and does not yet have an opinion on the motion to seal it.

Walker requested that the judge find that probation is “not appropriate for this defendant” and sentence him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. She also argued that the lesser hate crime enhancement cited in the defense’s sentencing motion does not apply.

The jury reached its verdict on July 3 after a nearly three-month trial in Orange County.

During closing arguments, Morrison told jurors Woodward is guilty of murder but said the act was not a hate crime but a spontaneous, irrational one.

“You heard me right out of the gate tell you my client was guilty,” Morrison said. “Guilty of serious, violent murder. But as you also know, there are many different kinds of murder.”

Woodward testified during the trial that on the night of the murder, he went into a state of terror after believing that Bernstein may have recorded him sexually touching him in the park, then pulled out a knife, ABC Los Angeles station KABC reported.

Walker told jurors during closing arguments that Woodward’s hatred of homosexuals and his association with Atomwaffen Division – a far-right, neo-Nazi group – led him to plan the murder.

“He already had his bags, he was already talking to Atomwaffen people about going somewhere else, and he thought he could get away with it,” she said. “It was only by the grace of God that the rain fell and they found his body.”