Precious Arzuaga and Jennifer Quijano have been sentenced to life in prison without parole for their roles in the torture and killing of 24-year-old Black trans man Sam Nordquist in New York, in January 2025.

The pair were sentenced in Ontario County Court after pleading guilty to charges including first-degree murder, kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse, concealment of a human corpse and endangering the welfare of a child. Both will also be required to register as sex offenders. Prosecutors described Arzuaga as a “ringleader” in the crime.

Sam Nordquist, who was from Minnesota, travelled to New York in September 2024 to meet Arzuaga, his girlfriend, whom he had met online. The couple stayed at Patty’s Lodge, a roadside hotel near Canandaigua, where Nordquist had expected to remain for about a week.

When he failed to return home as planned, his mother, Linda Nordquist, contacted New York State Police and requested a wellness check. Nordquist told his mother he wanted to stay indefinitely to pursue his relationship.

By December, however, concerns about his well-being had intensified. An email from the Ontario County Department of Social Services told Linda that Sam wanted the agency to contact her. She was later informed that Arzuaga was controlling his access to his phone, that he wanted to return to Minnesota and that he was developing an “escape plan”. Nordquist was due to return to the social services office on December 19 but never appeared.

Authorities said he was then subjected to repeated acts of violence and torture for more than a month between January and February 2025. His body was found in a field on February 13, four days after he was reported missing by his mother and sister.

According to Syracuse, during sentencing, Nordquist’s mother and sister urged people to remember Sam for who he was, rather than allowing the circumstances of his death to define him. “Sam had the gentlest heart of anyone I’ve ever known,” Linda said “He saw the good in people. Even when they did not deserve it.”

At least two other defendants have pleaded guilty. Emily Motyka pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and kidnapping, while Kyle Sage has also pleaded guilty to murder and kidnapping charges. Patrick Goodwin, Kimberly Sochia and Thomas Eaves remain charged and are due to face separate trials.

The case has also prompted questions over why the torture and murder of Sam Nordquist as a Black trans man has not been prosecuted as a hate crime. Advocates have drawn comparisons with the 1998 killing of Matthew Shepard, whose murder helped fuel the movement for anti-LGBTQ+ hate-crime legislation.

Federal data and a 2024 investigation published in the Journal of the American Medical Association have highlighted the heightened risk of intimate-partner violence faced by transgender people, particularly trans men.

If you have been affected by this story or are looking to reach out to someone for support, advice or just to talk, there are numerous services available for LGBTQ+ people, listed below, and many offer instant messaging support.

Samaritans
National LGBT+ Helpline
The Switchboard
Dublin Lesbian Line
Belong To
TENI
Aware
Pieta House
Jigsaw
Mental Health Ireland
Garda Confidential Line