BARTOW, Fla. -- Authorities are investigating the killing of a central Florida man as a hate crime after interviews with people who knew him revealed he was gay, officials said.

William David Brown Jr., 20, and Joseph Bearden, 21, were being held without bond in the Polk County Jail Saturday after being charged with first degree murder in connection to Ryan Keith Skipper's death, authorities said.

They are also charged with the armed robbery of Skipper's car and computer. If convicted of murder, the two men would be eligible for the death penalty under Florida law.

The body of the 25-year-old Winter Haven man was found on a rural road in Wahneta early Wednesday morning, said Polk County Sheriff's spokeswoman Donna Wood. He had been stabbed about 20 times, she said.

A witness came forward and said Skipper was killed because he made an advance toward Brown, Wood said.

Authorities are treating the killing as a hate crime, according to a sheriff's office statement.

Skipper was driving around Wahneta on Tuesday and offered Bearden a ride around midnight, the statement said. The two went back to Skipper's house, where they smoked marijuana and discussed using Skipper's computer to copy checks, the report said.

The two left Skipper's house and went to another home where they met Brown and they all left in Skipper's car, officials said. Once at the remote location, Brown and Bearden allegedly attacked Skipper in his own vehicle, stabbing him and leaving him along the roadside, Wood said.

The suspects allegedly attempted to clean the bloody vehicle and later drove Skipper's car around and bragged to friends, Wood said.

Skipper's car was later found abandoned on a dock near Lake Pansy in Winter Haven and Brown's fingerprints were found inside, she said.

Detectives interviewed Brown and Bearden on Friday, officials said.

It was not immediately known if Brown and Bearden had attorneys.