5 folks in New York have been charged with subjecting a transgender man from Minnesota to “repeated acts of violence and torture” earlier than murdering him, in accordance with police.
The allegations come after the invention of human stays believed to be these of Sam Nordquist, 24, in a discipline close to Canandaigua in upstate New York on 13 February.
Police on Friday recognized Treasured Arzuaga, 38; Jennifer Quijano, 30; Kyle Sage, 33; Patrick Goodwin, 30; and Emily Motyka, 19, as suspects in Nordquist’s slaying. They’re all charged with second-degree homicide with wicked indifference, police stated.
“Our investigation has revealed a deeply disturbing sample of abuse that finally resulted in Sam’s tragic loss of life,” police captain Kelly Swift stated throughout a press convention on Friday.
“Primarily based on proof and witness statements, we’ve decided that Sam endured extended bodily and psychological abuse by the hands of a number of people.
“Our investigation has confirmed that from early December 2024 to February 2025 Sam was subjected to repeated acts of violence and torture in a fashion that finally led to his loss of life.”
Police had launched a lacking particular person investigation on 9 February after Nordquist’s household requested them to hold out a welfare test.
Proof that Nordquist was subjected to ongoing bodily abuse was found after police searched a number of places, together with Patty’s Lodge, a roadside motel the place he was final recognized to be staying.
They consider his physique was taken to the sector the place the stays had been found in an try and “conceal the crime” that killed Nordquist, Swift stated.
A fundraiser has been launched on GoFundMe to assist his household which as of Sunday had acquired greater than $47,000 from about about 1,300 donors.
Initially from Oakdale, Minnesota, Nordquist had travelled to New York in September to fulfill his “on-line girlfriend”, in accordance with the fundraising web page.
It states that he had bought a round-trip airplane ticket and was alleged to return residence by mid-October.
Nordquist’s household had not heard from him since January – and the final time he was seen was in early February.
In an interview with Minnesota’s KARE tv information station, Nordquist’s mom, Linda, recalled: “The very last thing Sam stated is, ‘I really like you, and I’ll name you tomorrow.’ Tomorrow got here, and I by no means heard a phrase.”
Linda Norquist stated Sam “sounded unhappy, actually unhappy”, throughout that dialog, which was on New 12 months’s Day.
“And Sam is an outgoing particular person,” Linda Norquist stated. “He had a coronary heart of gold and wouldn’t damage anyone.”
All 5 suspects have been arraigned and remanded to the jail in Ontario county, which incorporates Canandaigua.
“We perceive that the main points of this case are deeply unsettling, and we need to guarantee the general public that we’re dedicated to searching for justice for Sam and his household,” Swift stated.
She added: “In my 20-year legislation enforcement profession this is without doubt one of the most horrific crimes I’ve ever investigated.”
An post-mortem will likely be carried out by the medical expert’s workplace in Monroe county, New York, to verify Nordquist’s precise trigger and method of loss of life, although authorities’ actions point out he was the sufferer of a murder.
The LGBTQ+ rights group The New Delight Agenda stated in a publish on social media: “We’re devastated and enraged by the horrific homicide of Sam Nordquist … whose life was brutally taken within the Finger Lakes area after enduring weeks of torture.
The group based mostly in New York added: “Whereas arrests have been made, we all know that this isn’t an remoted incident; it’s a tragic consequence of the rising tradition of hate in our society.”
Linda Norquist instructed KARE that Sam’s loss of life was “devastating” to her household.
“Sam didn’t deserve this,” Linda Norquist stated. No one deserves this kind of torment that he needed to endure.
“These those who did this to Sam are pure evil. They’re not even human. We are going to get justice for you, Sam. Even when it takes the final breath out of me – you should have justice.”
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