New York police find body of missing man they say was tortured for more than a month by 5 people

[bnew]

New York police find body of missing man they say was tortured for more than a month by 5 people

New York State Police have charged five people 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.

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New York police find body of missing man they say was tortured for more than a month by 5 people​

This undated photo provided by the New York State Police shows Sam Nordquist. Nordquist, a 24-year-old missing transgender man, died after enduring prolonged physical and psychological abuse over a month by multiple individuals who later discarded his body in a field, in Canandaigua, N.Y., according to New York State Police. (New York State Police via AP)

Updated 7:05 PM EST, February 14, 2025

CANANDAIGUA, NY (AP) — 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.

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.

 

[bnew]

Transgender man ‘tortured’ by 5 attackers at upstate NY motel in ‘beyond depraved’ killing: cops

Five people were hit with murder charges for allegedly torturing and killing transgender man Sam Nordquist in upstate New York, authorities said.

nypost.com

Transgender man ‘tortured’ by 5 attackers at upstate NY motel in ‘beyond depraved’ killing: cops​

By

Matthew Sedacca

Published Feb. 15, 2025, 12:53 p.m. ET

A transgender man was physically tortured for more than a month in an upstate New York motel until he died, with his alleged attackers ditching his corpse in an empty field in an attempt to cover up the “depraved” crime, authorities said.

Five people were hit with murder charges in the death of Sam Nordquist, who was allegedly punched, kicked, beaten with sticks, dog toys, ropes canes and belts — and assaulted with a table leg and broomstick for weeks before his death, according to court documents.

Nordquist, 24, suffered “physical and psychological abuse” as well as “repeated acts of torture and violence” that ultimately led to his death, New York State Police Captain Kelly Swift said at a news conference.

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The body of Sam Nordquist, originally from Minnesota, was found dumped in an empty field in upstate New York. NY State Troopers

“In my 20-year law enforcement career, this is one of the most horrific crimes I have ever investigated,” Swift said.

Originally from Minnesota, Nordquist traveled to New York in September and had been staying at Patty’s Lodge motel with Precious Arzuaga in Canandaigua, roughly 30 minutes outside of Rochester, according to police.

Nordquist’s family asked cops to check on him after they lost touch with him last month and turned to GoFundMe to raise money so they could travel to New York to look for him.

He had made the trip to meet his online girlfriend and had a round trip ticket, his sister Kayla wrote on the fundraiser.

Authorities launched a missing persons investigation on Feb. 9, and on Thursday, cops discovered a “deeply disturbing pattern of abuse” at the motel, Swift said.

In addition to Arzuaga, 38, of Geneva, NY, police arrested Jennifer A. Quijano, 30, also of Geneva; Kyle Sage, 33, of Hopewell, NY; and Patrick A. Goodwin and Emily Motyka, 19, both of Rochester, NY. All were hit with second-degree murder charges in connection to Nordquist’s death.

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Patrick Goodwin. Ontario County Sheriff's Office

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Jennifer Quijano. Ontario County Sheriff's Office

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Precious Arzuaga. Ontario County Sheriff's Office

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Emily Motyka. Ontario County Sheriff's Office

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Kyle Sage. Ontario County Sheriff's Office

All five were arraigned and being held without bail at Ontario County Jail, according to District Attorney Jim Ritts, who described Nordquist’s killing as “beyond depraved.”

Swift said at the news conference that authorities hadn’t ruled out the possibility that Nordquist’s death was a hate crime, but added that the investigation is ongoing.

“This is by far the worst homicide investigation that our office has ever been a part of,” Ritts said, adding, “No human being should have to endure what Sam endured.”

 

[Ol’Otis]

Usual suspects
Burn em at the stake

 

[bnew]

'Beyond depraved': 5 charged with transgender Minnesota man's murder in Ontario County

Farmington, N.Y. — Five people face murder charges after a Minnesota man reported missing man in Ontario County was found dead in a field in Yates County.

13wham.com

​

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'Beyond depraved': 5 charged with transgender Minnesota man's murder in Ontario County​

---

by Christian Garzone & WHAM Staff

Fri, February 14th 2025 at 5:17 AM

Updated Fri, February 14th 2025 at 5:40 PM








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VIEW ALL PHOTOS


Kyle Sage, 33 (top left),Patrick Goodwin, 30 (top right), Emily Motyka, 19 (bottom left) and Precious Arzuaga, 38 (bottom center), were booked in Ontario County Jail earlyFriday, Feb. 14, 2025, and charged with murder for the death of Sam Nordquist, 24. Jennifer Quijano, 30 (bottom right), was booked on the same charge late Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (Photos courtesy of Ontario County Sheriff's Office)

Farmington, N.Y. (WHAM) — Five people face murder charges after a transgender man reported missing in Ontario County was found dead in a field in Yates County, apparently after enduring months of torture, according to authorities.

"In my 20-year law enforcement career, this is one of the most horrific crimes I have ever investigated," New York State Police Captain Kelly Swift said.

New York State Police said Sam Nordquist, 24, of Oakdale, Minnesota, arrived in New York state in September and was staying at Patty's Lodge in Hopewell. He was last in contact with loved ones in late January and was last seen earlier this month.

Police launched a missing person investigation Sunday after receiving a welfare check request from Nordquist's family. They determined Nordquist had been staying at Patty's Lodge with Precious Arzuaga, 38, of Geneva, and others.



Swift said Nordquist "endured prolonged physical and psychological abuse" and "repeated acts of violence and torture" between early December and early February.

According to a felony complaint, the suspects sexually assaulted Nordquist with a table leg and broomsticks, and beat him with sticks, dog toys, ropes and belts until he died. His body "was then transported in an attempt to conceal the crime," Swift said during a press conference Friday at the New York State Police Troop E headquarters in Farmington.

Swift said police executed a search warrant Thursday inside Apartment 22 at Patty's Lodge. They found Nordquist's body Thursday in a field off Payne Road in the town of Benton.

Arzuaga and four other suspects were arrested and charged with second-degree murder.

• Kyle Sage, 33, of Hopewell
• Patrick Goodwin, 30, of Rochester
• Emily Motyka, 19, of Rochester
• Jennifer Quijano, 30, of Geneva

The five suspects were arraigned overnight and are being held in the Ontario County Jail without bail. District Attorney Jim Ritts said he anticipates grand jury action "very quickly."

"The facts and the circumstances of this crime are beyond depraved," Ritts said. "This is by far the worst homicide investigation that our office has ever been a part of. It is an ongoing investigation, so we are necessarily limited in the things that we can talk about. But no human being should have to endure what Sam endured."

Michelle Pickard, who lives in Farmington and assisted with the search effort, said Nordquist's heartbroken family is on the way from Minnesota and called the details of the case "sickening."

"Sam’s a human being, a beautiful one, and it’s just unfortunate that people are that disgusting and that ugly," she said.

Nordquist's death remains under investigation. Police said the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death.

Swift said authorities haven't ruled out the potential of a hate crime in the case. Ritts said they're asking for patience as they work through the case.

"We will work, and we will work tirelessly," Ritts said. "We will continue to work with our partners in law enforcement to make sure this investigation moves — and that we move forward appropriately so that the family can have closure."

 

[bnew]

Spoiler: text

HOLY fukk! I just watched all of this unfold on facebook a week ago. This is the worst possible outcome I expected.

Spoiler: text

Dang. What was happening on fb? Was it just posts searching for the victim?

Truly so sad.

Spoiler: text

Yes, sam was communicating with his family until January 1st. About 5 days ago sams sister started posting missing fliers, on day 1 of the missing fliers going around multiple delivery drivers confirmed sightings of sam within the week. They provided location, correct phone numbers, and said all orders were from precious account. Oddly the same day precious “sister” started commenting saying sam and precious broke up! And that sam had stopped taking testosterone, was cheating, and was allegedly “looking at her 15 year old niece weird in shorts” so he was kicked out. The drivers called the sister out and even offered to pull back up to the motel room. The “sister” swore up and down precious was innocent. Comments started unfolding precious was getting exposed, there was screen shots of a snapchat, sam was in the video, and it was only a week old. I was really hopeful that sam was still alive and alright and was just avoiding his family. The “sister” claimed precious loved sam immensely, but precious just updated her facebook profile to “married” to a woman just a month ago. The post are still up too, someone even commented they have evidence of the abuse happening to sam, the sister commented explaining that sam would disappear for days because precious was withholding her phone, service, money.

 

[lowkey0z]

they're either on meth or coming down from it

 

[CodeKansas]

Oh, look, it's them again.

The actual face of transgender violence.

 

[Justin Nitsuj]

imagine the public reaction if this were black people who done this. the LMNOP community would go all out to make the black community the face of homophobia/transphobia

 

[CopiousX]

Im disgusted. Trial is a waste of time



That poor woman. I Wish we still had gallows for such heinous crimes.

 

[concise]

Everybody involved looks off.

 

[Kasgoinjail]

Absolutely vile
Just having to look at and smell them would be torture, much less the violence they actually committed

 

[Yzak]

Demonic paleskins. Everyone of them needs to be tortured to death.

 

[broller]

Looking like the GEICO caveman

 

[jdubnyce]

Torture, castration and sodomy are warranted for all of them

Pieces of shyt

 

[Hacksaw Jim Thuggin]

they'll make a movie out of this...im sure....

a similar one was made years ago....Boys Don't Cry....

the end was hard to watch