Two individuals have been taken into custody in connection with the brutal killing of a transgender man in Minnesota, whose body was discovered abandoned in a field recently.
Sam Nordquist, aged 24, was declared missing on February 9. His remains were eventually located in New York following his visit to his supposed girlfriend, 38-year-old Precious Arzuaga. Arzuaga, along with four others — Patrick Goodwin (30), Kyle Sage (33), Jennifer Quijano (30), and Emily Motyka (19) — were apprehended last week on charges including second-degree murder, according to a report by CrimeOnline.
Authorities have now detained Kimberly Sochia, Arzuaga’s daughter, aged 29, and Thomas Eaves, aged 21. Both individuals have been charged with second-degree murder based on depraved indifference, as reported by WHAM.
Police say that Nordquist had been staying at Patty’s Lodge in Hopewell with Arzuaga and others since September. But for months, between December and early February, the group brutally tortured him, including raping him with broomsticks and a table leg and beat him with sticks, dog toys, belts, and ropes until he died.
Ontario County District Attorney Jim Ritts said it’s possible there may be more people involved.
“It’s beyond belief as to where this has already grown to with seven arrests, but the door’s not closed. The investigation is not over,” Ritts said. “Sam didn’t deserve this in a million years. Sam didn’t deserve this, and what he went through is appalling. What we want for his family, for his friends, for his community to understand where we are at moving forward on the journey to justice for Sam,” Ritts said.
Authorities said they have found no evidence that Nordquist’s brutal murder was a hate crime, The Guardian reported, noting that at least some of the suspects identified as LGBTQ while apparently being unaware of internalized homophobia and transphobia.
