Five Charged With Torture Murder Of NY Trans Man

The Associated Press reports:

New York State Police charged five people Friday in the murder 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.

The Washington Post reports:

Those charged with second-degree murder include Precious Arzuaga, 38, and Jennifer A. Quijano, 30, of Geneva, New York; Kyle Sage, 33, of Hopewell, New York; Patrick A. Goodwin and Emily Motyka, 19 of Rochester, New York.

Rochester LGBTQ+ Together, a community advocacy group, posted on social media that its members were “truly angered and disgusted” to learn the details of Nordquist’s death. The group said there was an “epidemic of violence” against transgender individuals across the country, calling it “a direct consequence of the ignorance and hatred that permeate our society.”

A 2021 study found that trans people were four times more likely to experience violent victimization than cisgender people.

Syracuse.com reports:

Police found his body in a field off Payne Road in the town of Benton in Yates County, Swift said. The five people moved the body from the motel to cover up the murder, she said.

Goodwin was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2015 for 1st degree criminal sexual act and 1st degree sexual abuse, according to state prison records. He was released in 2023. He went to prison for having sex with a 7-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl, according to the state sex offender’s registry.

Sage was sentenced to two to four years in state prison in 2022 for 4th degree grand larceny and 1st degree dissemination of indecent material to a minor. He got out in 2024.

Local police yesterday held a press conference.