Minnesota transgender man killed in New York seeing girlfriend was tortured for month
Vigil held for trans man from MN killed in NY
Chants of "Justice for Sam" echoed as friends and family processed his death. FOX 9' Leon Purvis has the full story.
(FOX 9) - Authorities in New York say seven people have been indicted by an Ontario County, New York grand jury in the February murder of Sam Nordquist, a transgender man from Minnesota.
According to court documents, Precious Arzuaga, Jennifer Quijano, Kyle Sage, Patrick Goodwin, Emily Motyka, Thomas Eaves and Kimberly Sochia have all been charged with a total of nine counts in Nordquist’s death.
Incident timeline
What we know:
According to family, Nordquist went to New York to visit his online girlfriend in September 2024. He was supposed to be back in Minnesota in October, but hadn’t been in contact with family since New Year’s Day.
Authorities say he was tortured for several weeks before he died.
The charges
The backstory:
The seven individuals have been indicted on a range of charges. They include cruel conduct intended to inflict torture, recklessly engaging in conduct to create a grave risk of death, abduction, sexual abuse, first-degree kidnapping, attempting to cause physical injury and altering a body.
According to the charges, the seven suspects are accused of forcing him to stand or knee facing the wall, assault, sexual assault, preventing him from using a phone, denying proper nutrition and hydration, forcing him to eat feces, drink urine and chew spit, covering his face with towels or shirts, using duct tape on him and pouring bleach on him.
Family vigil
Remembering Sam Nordquist:
Nordquist’s family and friends gathered for a vigil in St. Paul late last month to honor his life.
They also prayed for justice in his death. Authorities say there is no indication that his death was a hate crime.