Missing transgender man was tortured for over a month and killed in Finger Lakes
Five men and women have been charged with his murder in Canandaigua, State Police announced Friday.
Five people have been charged with murder in the death of Sam Nordquist in Canandaigua. Those charged are: Top row, from left, are Patrick A Goodwin, Kyle Sage and Jennifer A. Quijano. Bottom row, from left are Precious Arzuaga and Emily Motyka.NYS Police
Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old transgender man who was reported missing in February, was tortured repeatedly for over a month before he was killed, according to state police.
Five people have been charged with his murder, police spokesperson Lynnea Crane said Friday.
Troopers made the arrests Thursday at Patty’s Lodge Motel in Canandaigua in Ontario County Thursday.
From early December 2024 to February 2025, Nordquist was subjected to “repeated acts of violence and torture which ultimately led to his death,” said Capt. Kelly Swift, head of Troop E’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Nordquist is originally from Minnesota and traveled to the Finger Lakes area last September. He was last known to be staying at the motel.
Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old transgender man who was reported missing in February, was tortured repeatedly for over a month before he was killed. State Police said.Courtesy State Police
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.
“In my 20-year law enforcement career, this is one of the most horrific crimes I’ve ever investigated,” Swift said.
The five individuals were charged with second-degree murder, troopers said. They are:
- Precious N. Arzuaga, 38, of Canandaigua
- Emily Jean Motyka, 19, of Lima
- Jennifer A. Quijano, 30, of Geneva
- Kyle R. Sage, 33, of Canandaigua
- Patrick A. Goodwin, 30, Canandaigua
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.
