I too at times struggled with how to navigate relationships in my life, yet I somehow always knew stabbing people in the face and neck was off the table.
'undiagnosed autism' and repressed sexuality are not an excuse for stabbing a guy 28 times in the face for attempting to kiss you after y'all met up on a dating app. Even if they were, it's really just even more reasons to keep you away from the public.
While it may be a defense attorney's job to come up with theories for why a crime may have happened that dampen the blow, it seems like it would have been difficult to circumnavigate this little tidbit:
During the trial, prosecutors said Woodward was affiliated with an anti-gay, neo-nazi group called Atomwaffen Division and linked his extremist views to the crime.