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Man Accused Of Killing Penn Student Blaze Bernstein Faces Judge

COSTA MESA  (CBSLA)  -- Sam Woodward, charged in the killing of Ivy League student Blaze Bernstein, stared at his parents though the wire in a holding cell during a short hearing  Friday afternoon.

The Woodards held hands and prayed aloud.

The judge set a new preliminary hearing date, moving it from March to June 14 to give the defense time to review the evidence.

Defense attorney Edward Munoz said that discovery includes DNA evidence. He estimated he has about 65 percent of the evidence collected but there is more to come in, he said.

CBS2's Michele Gile reported Munoz did not specify what that evidence might be.

Friday marks two months since Bernstein disappeared from his hometown, Foothill Ranch. The 19-year-old University of Pennsylvania student had gone to nearby Borrego Park with Woodward, his high school friend. According to officials, his body was found there buried days later. Bernstein was stabbed multiple times.

Bernstein was Jewish and gay. But the the D.A. is not calling this a hate crime. The D.A. hasn't revealed a motive for the murder.

Outside of court, Munoz described Woodward as depressed and feeling remorse and shame for his family.

The 20-year-old from Newport Beach reads the Bible in jail, his attorney says, and is visited by a priest from the family's Catholic church.

Woodward has pleaded not guilty to the homicide charge.

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