# Killing of Sam Nordquist

In February 2025, Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old transgender man from Minnesota, was killed after being tortured for over a month. Nordquist had been tortured between December 2024 and February 2025 before being killed, according to a police news release on February 14, 2025.
In Hopewell, the New York State Police, working with local law enforcement, arrested five people, ages 19 to 38, who were charged with second-degree murder with depraved indifference. On February 20, two more suspects, a 29-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man, were charged with the same offense.

## Sam Nordquist

Nordquist was born in Red Wing, Minnesota, and attended Red Wing High School. He worked at a group home for disabled people in Little Canada, Minnesota. Nordquist identified as biracial and was close with his mother and two siblings.
Nordquist left Minnesota on September 28, 2024, with plans to travel to Geneva, New York to meet his online girlfriend, Precious Arzuaga, and return two weeks later. Nordquist decided, instead, to stay in New York with Arzuaga to work on their relationship. His family lost touch with him after January 1, 2025, and noted that in his communications up to his disappearance, he seemed "not like himself". According to his mother, the family requested multiple wellness checks in the months leading up to their missing persons report, which were declined by the local police. She also noted an email from Ontario County Social Services in December, showing that he failed to return to their offices after speaking to them about a need for an "escape plan".

## Death

Nordquist had been reported missing since December 2024. The New York State Police did a wellness check on February 9 after Nordquist's family filed a missing persons report with the Canandaigua Police that day. Police searched a room at Patty’s Lodge Motel in Hopewell, Ontario County, where Nordquist and at least one of the suspects were reportedly living together and discovered evidence of the abuse.
In a news conference on February 14, Captain Kelly Swift of the New York State Police reported that evidence and witness statements suggested that Nordquist endured prolonged physical and psychological abuse from multiple individuals prior to his death. According to police reports, the suspects sexually assaulted Nordquist with a table leg and broomstick, beating him with sticks, dog toys, ropes, and belts before he succumbed to his injuries. The abuse reportedly went on from early December 2024 to February 2025.
Human remains thought to be those of Nordquist were found in a Yates County field on February 13, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Rochester. According to police, Nordquist's body was moved in an attempt to conceal the crime. Swift called the case “one of the most horrific crimes” that she had investigated in her law enforcement career. The date of death has been reported as February 2, 2025.

## Investigation

The Ontario County District Attorney stated there was no evidence the killing was a hate crime, stating that "his assailants were known to each other, identified as LGBTQ+, and at least one of the defendants lived with Sam in the time period leading up to the instant offense." The Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office plans to conduct an autopsy.
The seven suspects charged were Precious Arzuaga, 38; Jennifer Quijano, 30; Kyle Sage, 33; Patrick Goodwin, 30; Emily Motyka, 19; Thomas G. Eaves, 21; and Kimberly Sochia, 29. One suspect, Patrick Goodwin, aged 30, was convicted of child sexual abuse in 2015 and released from prison in 2023. Another, Kyle Sage, 33, was convicted of grand larceny and distributing pornography to a minor, finishing his prison sentence in May 2024. Precious Arzuaga, 38, was previously convicted of misdemeanor trespass and larceny, and in 2016, she was charged with animal cruelty to her dog, which was removed by authorities.
Four defendants were charged with first-degree agravated sexual abuse and 6 were charged with concealment of a human corpse. All were charged with first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, second-degree conspiracy, and endangering the welfare of a child, as the prosecution stated a 7 year old and 12 year old were forced to participate in the torture of Nordquist. Arzuaga was charged with coercing the children to do so.
Assistant DA Kelly Wolford said Nordquist was beaten, sexually assualted, denied proper nutrition and hydration, forced to consume urine, feces, and tobacco juice, and had bleach poured over him. Wolford also stated "A hate crime would make this charge about Sam’s gender or about Sam’s race, and it’s so much bigger. To limit us to a hate crime would be an injustice to Sam,” she added. “Sam was beaten, assaulted, sexually abused, starved, held captive. And we cannot make sense of that. We cannot put that on his gender, and we cannot put that on his race".

## Legal

Local authorities and the New York State Police arrested five suspects on February 9, 2025. The suspects, both male and female, aged 19 to 38, were charged with second-degree murder with depraved indifference. On February 20, 2025, two more suspects were arrested with the same charges. On March 5, the suspects were indicted on first-degree murder charges. Arzuaga was also charged with coercing two children, aged 7 and 12, to take part in the torture.

## Aftermath

Vigils were held shortly after the discovery of Nordquist's death. One was hosted in Red Wing, Minnesota, where he had attended high school. Another vigil was held that same day at Wood Library in Canandaigua, New York. The POCI Caucus and Queer Caucus of the Minnesota House of Representatives released a joint statement of solidarity and hosted a vigil at the Minnesota State Capitol. Organizers are looking into honoring Nordquist at an upcoming exhibit which showcases Minnesota's LGBTQ history.
The New York Times, in reporting Nordquist’s death, changed their headline twice, from originally referring to Nordquist as a transgender man and saying he was tortured for two months, then to simply referring to him as a man and saying he was tortured for “more than a month,” and finally to simply referring to him as a person instead of a man or transgender man.

## Reactions

Transgender and LGBTQ+ advocates have questioned why prosecutors have not charged the suspects with hate crimes. LGBTQ+ groups such as GLAAD have called on the prosecutors to pursue hate crime charges.
On Bluesky, Minnesota governor Tim Walz called the events around Nordquist's killing "deeply disturbing," writing that "Minnesota stands with our LGBTQ neighbors against this unthinkable crime". New York governor Kathy Hochul issued a statement on February 15, stating that her office would provide any support needed to secure justice for Nordquist and offering assistance to Nordquist's family. Three members of the Rochester City Council issued a joint statement that they "reaffirm our commitment to protecting Trans rights, ensuring safety for all and wish to make clear that you belong—fully, openly, and without fear."
In an interview with NewsNation affiliate WROC, Nordquist's mother, Linda Nordquist, said of her son, "He would give you the shirt off his back" and that he was "very kind, loved his family, loved his nieces and nephew, very outgoing, worked hard." When asked about the five people arrested she responded "They can rot. They are scum, they are evil, I don’t know how somebody can be that evil." She later criticized law enforcement, claiming they failed to "do their jobs" when she called to request wellness checks.

### Organizations

Rochester LGBTQ+ Together, an advocacy group, reported that it was "angered and disgusted" to learn about Nordquist's killing. The New Pride Agenda, an LGBTQ+ rights organization based in New York, stated that they were "devastated and enraged by the horrific murder of Sam Nordquist" and that "this is not an isolated incident; it is a tragic consequence of the rising culture of hate in our society." The New York City Anti-Violence Project released a statement that regardless of whether law enforcement classified the case was pursued as a hate crime, anti-trans violence often intersects with racism, hate violence, and intimate partner violence.
GLAAD, the largest LGBTQ advocacy organization in the country, urged New York prosecutors to pursue hate crime charges. In a press release, they stated "While we are encouraged to see law enforcement act swiftly to investigate this horrific act, we caution investigators from ruling out hate crime charges," advising that "anti-LGBTQ hate can be perpetuated by anyone, regardless of their relationship to the victim or their own gender identity or sexual orientation".