New York police say Minnesota trans man was tortured for a month, then killed
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New York State Police charged five people Friday with murder in the killing of a missing man who authorities said died following repeated acts of violence and torture for more than a month by multiple individuals who later discarded his body in a field.
The victim, Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old transgender man originally from Minnesota, was reported missing on Feb. 9. Police said he arrived in New York in September and had lost contact with loved ones.
Major Kevin Sucher, commander of the state police troop that includes the Finger Lakes region, said the facts and circumstances of the case were “beyond depraved” and “by far the worst” homicide investigation the office has ever been part of.
“No human being should have to endure what Sam endured,” he said, during televised news conference. Police did not share many details of the case, noting it remained under active investigation.
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“Sam Nordquist should still be alive,” wrote Rochester LGBTQ+ Together of Rochester, N.Y., in a Facebook post on Friday. “We are truly angered and disgusted to learn the details of Sam’s final days. ... The epidemic of violence against Trans folx in this country is a direct consequence of the ignorance and hatred that permeate our society.”
When asked if Nordquist’s torture and death were considered a hate crime, Capt. Kelly Swift the New York State Police Troop E’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation said police hadn’t ruled it out but stressed the investigation was continuing. Investigators also need to determine Nordquist’s relationship with the suspects as well as the suspects’ relationships with one another.
Those arrested include Precious Arzuaga, 38, and Patrick Goodwin, 30, of Canandaigua, New York; Kyle Sage, 33, of Rochester, New York; Jennifer Quijano, 30, of Geneva, New York; and Emily Motyka, 19, of Lima, New York. All five were charged with second-degree murder after police on Thursday searched a room at the Patty’s Lodge motel in Canandaigua, the last place Nordquist was known to be staying.
All five were being held in police custody, pending arraignment. It was unclear whether any had obtained an attorney.
The investigation has so far revealed a “deeply disturbing pattern of abuse” that ultimately resulted in Nordquist's death, said Swift, who called it “one of the most horrific crimes” she has ever investigated in her 20-year law enforcement career.
