5 people in New York charged after allegedly torturing, killing transgender man
Five people have been arrested in New York and charged in connection with the disappearance and murder of a 24-year-old transgender man from Minnesota, who police say was tortured and abused for weeks before his death.
New York State Police launched a missing persons investigation for Sam Nordquist on Feb. 9, following a welfare check request from his family, Friday.
Human remains believed to be those of Nordquist were discovered on Feb. 13 in a field in Yates County, about 50 miles southeast of Rochester.
Law enforcement officials then discovered evidence suggesting that Nordquist “was subjected to ongoing physical abuse” between December 2024 and February 2025, according to the release.
“Sam was subjected to repeated acts of violence and torture in a manner that ultimately led to his death,” Capt. Kelly Swift with the New York State Police said at .
His body was moved “in an attempt to conceal the crime,” Swift added.
Swift described the case as “one of the most horrific crimes” she has ever investigated in her 20-year law enforcement career.
Five people, ranging in age from 19 to 38, have been arrested and charged with second-degree murder with depraved indifference, according to the release. Police identified the suspects as Precious Arzuaga, 38; Jennifer A. Quijano, 30; Kyle Sage, 33; Patrick A. Goodwin, 30; and Emily Motyka, 19.
Investigators are still working to understand the relationships between the five suspects and Nordquist, according to Swift.
CNN has reached out to the attorneys of the suspects for comment. Attorneys for Quijano and Goodwin told CNN they had no comment.
The suspects were arraigned Friday morning and are being held at the Ontario County Jail without bail, Ontario County District Attorney James Ritts said at the news conference.
Each suspect could face anywhere from 15 years to life in prison if convicted, Ritts said.
Nordquist “had a heart of gold and wouldn’t hurt anybody,” his mother, Linda Nordquist, told .
She described her son as an animal lover who worked at a home for vulnerable adults, according to KARE. He lived with his mother in Oakdale, Minnesota.
The Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office will perform an autopsy to determine how Nordquist died, according to New York State Police.
Nordquist traveled to New York in September to meet an “online girlfriend,” according to set up by his family. Nordquist’s friends and family hadn’t heard from him since Jan. 1, according to the fundraiser.
Investigators haven’t ruled out classifying the murder as a hate crime or making additional arrests, Swift said Friday.
“The facts and the circumstances of this crime are beyond depraved,” Ritts said. “No human being should have to endure what Sam endured.”
In 2023, there were 35 homicides of “transgender or gender-expansive people,” according to .
Several Rochester City Council members expressed their condolences to Nordquist’s family and their support for the transgender community .
“Our Trans and LGBTQIA+ residents are, and have always been, integral to the fabric of our communities,” reads the release from council members Mary Lupien, Stanley Martin, and Kim Smith.