Officials in upstate New York are saying “at this time we have no indication” that the torture killing of a Twin Cities transgender man earlier this month was a hate crime.
Sam Nordquist, 24, who left for New York in September, was reported missing on Feb. 9 and found dead Wednesday from repeated acts of violence for more than a month by several people before they discarded his body in a field in a neighboring county.
Arrested and charged in connection with Nordquist’s death are five New York state residents: Precious Arzuaga, 38, and Patrick Goodwin, 30, of Canandaigua; Kyle Sage, 33, of Rochester; Jennifer Quijano, 30, of Geneva; and Emily Motyka, 19, of Lima.
They were charged Friday after police searched and found evidence in a room Thursday at the Patty’s Lodge motel in Canandaigua, about 30 miles southeast of Rochester, the last place Nordquist was known to be staying.
On Sunday, a joint statement from the State Police and the Ontario County District Attorney’s Office was issued in response to what they said were “many questions as to whether Sam’s murder was a hate crime.”
Based on current state law, the statement continued, “At this time we have no indication that Sam’s murder was a hate crime. ... We are disclosing that Sam and 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 Nordquist’s death.
“We share the community’s shock at such a heinous act of violence, and understand the fear circulating amongst members of the LGBTQ+ community,” the statement read. “We will follow any and all leads to ensure that the motive for this murder is uncovered.”
A vigil has been scheduled for Monday evening outside Wood Library in Canandaigua.
