Five people have been arrested and accused in New York in relation to the disappearance and death of a 24 -year -old Minnesota transgender man who was reported as disappeared earlier this week, authorities said.
New York State Police reported that he launched an investigation of missing persons for Sam Nordquist, 24, Sunday after receiving a request for welfare control of his family.
On Thursday, the researchers discovered human remains, which are believed to be Nordquist’s, in a field in Yates County, New York. Yates County is about 50 miles south of Rochester.
The case is being investigated as a homicide, said Lynnea Crane, spokesman for the New York State Police, at a Friday press conference. He added that the evidence points to the fact that Nordquist was the “victim of a criminal act.”
Captain Kelly Swift with the New York State Police said at the press conference that they have not ruled out the possibility that this case is a hate crime.
“Our research has revealed a deeply disturbing abuse pattern that finally resulted in Sam’s tragic death,” Swift said, and noted that Nordquist faced a “prolonged physical and psychological abuse at the hands of multiple people.”
He called it “one of the most horrible crimes that I have investigated” in his career of the 20 -year law.
The police could not share details about the specific abuse that Nordquist faced, citing the ongoing investigation.
The authorities said they discovered that Nordquist had stayed in Patty’s Lodge in Hopewell, New York, with one of the five suspects. The evidence discovered during the investigation suggests that Nordquist “was subjected to continuous physical abuse” between December 2024 and February 2025, police said.
Police identified the five suspects, all in New York, as priceus Arzuaga, 38; Jennifer A. Quijano, 30; Kyle Sage, 33; Patrick A. Goodwin, 30; and Emily Motyka, 19. All were accused of second degree murder with depraved indifference, according to the state police statement.
The five suspects were prosecuted and sent to the Ontario County prison on Friday.
James Ritts, Ontario County District Prosecutor, said in Friday’s press conference that suspects are detained without bail. He pointed out that a date for a preliminary hearing has been established and that he expects “Action of the Grand Jury very quickly.”
It was not clear immediately if any of the suspects had legal representation. Crane, the New York state police spokesman, told NBC News that he was not aware of the legal representatives of the suspects. The Ontario County District Prosecutor did not immediately respond to a request for that information on Saturday night.
Police said they are still investigating the relationship between Nordquist and suspects.
“Sam underwent repeated acts of violence and torture in a way that finally led to his death,” Swift said at the press conference. “His body was transported in an attempt to hide the crime.”
According to the state police statement, Nordquist’s body was “transported to Yates County, where the remains were eliminated.”
The Monroe County Forensic Physician will carry out an autopsy to determine the cause and the form of death, police said.
According to the report of missing people, Nordquist had been in contact with the family at the end of January, and had traveled to New York from Minnesota in September 2024.
Nordquist was last seen in early February. The investigators executed multiple search warrants in Patty’s Lodge, according to the police.
The investigation is active and continuous, police said.
“The facts and circumstances of this crime are more than depraved. This is, with much, the worst homicide investigation of which our office has been a part,” Ritts said Friday. “No human being should have to endure what Sam endured.”
Several members of the Council of the City of Rochester expressed their support and condolences for Nordquist’s family in a shared press release on social networks.
“Our trans and LGBTQIA+ residents are, and they have always been, it is integral of the fabric of our communities,” said the members of the Mary Lupien Council, Stanley Martin and Kim Smith. “We reaffirm our commitment to protect trans rights, ensuring everyone’s safety and wish to make it clear that you belong, openly, openly and without fear.”
