A judge has set bail for the suspected killer of Jewish student Blaze Bernstein at $5 million (£3.81 million).

Samuel Woodward, 21, will be formally charged with the murder at an arraignment hearing in California on November 9.

KABC also reported on Monday that Mr Woodward had requested a public defender.

Mr Woodward is accused of stabbing Mr Bernstein 19 times in his neck in what prosecutors say illustrated his suspected homophobia and ties to the Atomwaffen Divison, an armed fascist group in California. 

He denies all charges.

At a hearing earlier this month prosecutors said there were also more than 100 “materials” on Mr Woodward’s iPhone referencing the Atomwaffen Division, including a wallpaper and pictures referencing Nazism.

He reportedly told officers that he picked up Mr Bernstein from his home at 11pm on January 2 this year and drove to a local park, where they were alone.

Officers searching Mr Woodward’s home found a knife in a bedroom drawer with blood on the tip of the blade and the handle, as well as blood stains at various locations including the visor of his car.