Authorities in upstate New York say a transgender man who was killed after being subjected to weeks of torture knew his captors, who all identified as LGBTQ+, including one he lived with at Patty’s Lodge, a welfare motel where the torture is alleged to have taken place.

Last week, the body of Sam Nordquist, 24, was found in a field in the Finger Lakes region after his family reported him missing.

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They tortured him for four hours … and then it got even worse.

“His assailants were known to each other, identified as LGBTQ+, and at least one of the defendants lived with Sam in the time period leading up to the instant offense,” a joint statement from the Ontario County District Attorney and the New York State Police released on Sunday said.

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Those facts suggest Nordquist’s torture and murder were not a hate crime, authorities said.

Nordquist’s family said he bought a round-trip plane ticket from Minnesota to New York in September after he met a woman online in July. He was due to fly back in October, but never got on the plane, they told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. 

Nordquist’s sister, Kayla, said the family reported him missing on February 9 after they failed to reach him and it appeared his phone was shut off.

State police detectives who began investigating Nordquist’s disappearance eventually uncovered evidence indicating that he was “subjected to prolonged physical and psychological abuse.” His remains were found last week. 

“Our investigation has revealed a deeply disturbing pattern of abuse that ultimately resulted in Sam’s tragic death,” Capt. Kelly Swift of the state police’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation said at a media briefing. “In my 20-year law enforcement career, this is one of the most horrific crimes I have ever investigated.”

Capt. Swift called it “beyond depraved.”

Ontario County District Attorney Jim Ritts told WHAM that Nordquist’s murder is the most horrific case his department has prosecuted.

“It is absolutely without question the worst thing that we have ever seen,” he said.

Authorities said Nordquist endured unthinkable torture before he was murdered, without providing specifics beyond describing it as “prolonged” and involving “numerous objects.”

According to a criminal complaint obtained by WHAM, the suspects stand accused of sexually assaulted Nordquist with a “table leg and broomstick.” Prosecutors allege that the suspects subjected Nordquist to “prolonged beatings by punching, kicking and striking [Nordquist] with numerous objects, including but not limited to sticks, dog toys, rope, bottles, belts, canes and wooden boards.” The suspects then allegedly tried to hide their crime by discarding his body in a field in Canandaigua, New York.

“No human being should have to endure what Sam endured,” Major Kevin Sucher, commander of the state police troop, said at a news conference Sunday.

The five suspects are each charged with second-degree murder with depraved indifference, which carries a potential sentence of 15 to 20 years.

Ritts said three out of the five suspects have previous criminal convictions.

Kyle Sage, 33, and Patrick Goodwin, 30, are both currently on parole. Sage was convicted of larceny and disseminating indecent material to a minor. Goodwin is a registered Level 3 sex offender convicted of first-degree criminal sex act and sexual abuse involving a victim under the age of 11.

Precious Arzuaga, 38, has four misdemeanor convictions for petty larceny, criminal trespass and the sale of an imitation control substance. Emily Motyka, 19, and Jennifer Quijano, 30, have no previous criminal convictions. The five suspects remain in custody.

Nordquist’s family has raised $120,831 in a $140,000 crowdfunding campaign to recover his body and return it to his home state of Minnesota.

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