CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. — New York authorities on Wednesday outlined an astonishing story of kidnap, torture and sexual assault in the killing of Sam Nordquist, a transgender man from Minnesota who was allegedly imprisoned in a small room of an upstate motel for a month before he died.
The torment inflicted by the group of alleged kidnappers, described in an 11-count indictment filed in Ontario County court, included hitting, kicking, punching, inserting an object into Nordquist’s anus, starvation, forced consumption of feces, urine and tobacco juice, pouring of bleach on him and duct taping him. The indictment also alleges the forced participation of young children in the assault and torture.
The brutality and depravity of the crime — allegedly inflicted by a ring of people on the Black transgender man from Jan. 1 to Feb. 2 — has drawn national attention, sparked local demonstrations by LGBTQ rights advocates and raised the question from activists and his family: How could such a terrible thing happen without anyone notifying authorities?
The indictment came a day after Nordquist was laid to rest in his native Minnesota. The 24-year-old set out from Oakdale, Minnesota, to Ontario County, New York, in September to connect with a woman he’d met online. That woman, Precious Arzuaga, is one of seven people charged in the indictment with first degree murder, second degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, conspiracy and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
She and three others, Kyle Sage, Patrick Goodwin and Jennifer Quijano, were charged with aggravated sexual abuse. In addition, Arzuaga was charged with coercion for allegedly forcing children, 7 and 12, to take part in attacks on Nordquist. The seven are also charged with concealing Nordquist’s corpse, which they allegedly wrapped in plastic bags and dumped in a farmer’s field.
The gruesome details will likely grow as investigators piece together what happened in Room 22 of Patty’s Lodge in the town of Hopewell, New York, authorities said.
The indictment is “just a portion” of Nordquist’s ordeal, Ontario County Assistant District Attorney Kelly Wolford said at a news conference, where she grew visibly upset as she discussed the charges. “It’s just what we know now,” Wolford said.
The crimes are almost impossible to comprehend, she said.
“We’ll never know the answer why. Because what human beings could do what happened to Sam?” she said. “We’ll never make sense of this case.”
The seven alleged killers — Arzuaga, 38; her son, Thomas Eaves, 21; Quijano, 30; Sage, 33; Goodwin, 30; Emily Motyka, 19; and Kimberly Sochia, 29 — all knew each other, some romantically, some just from being around each other, Wolford said. Records show that Goodwin, a registered sex offender, was staying in a nearby room at Patty’s at the time. Goodwin and Sage were both on parole from previous sexually related crimes. All seven ended up in Room 22 at Patty’s Lodge, where Nordquist was allegedly held captive, tortured and killed.
“They forced him to obey their commands, treating him like a dog,” Wolford said.
The Office of the Ontario County Conflict Defender, which is representing the seven suspects, declined to comment.
Over the last several weeks, LGBTQ advocates from around the country have urged authorities to not rule out the possibility that Nordquist’s killing was a hate crime.
Wolford said prosecutors elected to charge the seven people with first degree murder — and not hate crimes against a Black transgender man — because that is the heaviest penalty available to them under New York law. If found guilty, the seven defendants could spend life in prison without parole.
“A hate crime would make this charge about Sam’s gender or about Sam’s race, and it’s so much bigger,” Wolford said. “To limit us to a hate crime would be an injustice to Sam. Sam deserves to have his story told in its entirety.”
Wolford called the alleged coercion of the two young children to participate in Nordquist’s torture “one of the more troubling parts” of the investigation. The children’s involvement was not previously known.
“It’s heartbreaking. We have a 7 year old and a 12 year old who are also victims,” she said. “They may have been forced to participate, but their lives are forever changed by what they saw and endured in there.”
When asked if the children belong to Arzuaga and if they were now in state custody, Welford declined to comment.
Patty’s Lodge is not being investigated for any wrongdoing, Wolford said. She added that there have not been any witnesses who reported Nordquist’s captivity or torture to authorities while he was still was alive.
“This is a housing location,” she said. “It looks like a motel, but these people do live there full time, so what happens in their home is not something that, necessarily, Patty’s Lodge is responsible for.”
Nordquist’s mother and sister suggested in previous interviews with NBC News that Nordquist’s death was preventable if local authorities had “done their jobs.”
The family said they requested two wellness checks on Nordquist with local authorities while he was still alive. They also said that Nordquist expressed that he was in danger to a local social services agency.
“Sam may be alive today if they would have done their jobs,” Linda Nordquist, his mother, said through tears.
After asking New York authorities for help, Nordquist’s mother went to her local police department on Feb. 10 and filed a missing persons report, which was forwarded to Canandaigua police. Two days later, the New York State Police put out a public notice about Nordquist’s disappearance, and on Feb. 13 his remains were found.
Responding to the family’s criticisms, New York State Police said in a statement last month that they “took appropriate investigative steps.” The Ontario County Department of Social Services has not returned multiple requests for comment in recent weeks.
When asked Wednesday if the social services department was aware that Nordquist was being controlled by the suspects, as his family suggested, Wolford declined to comment.
