CANANDAIGUA, NY (AP) — Donations are flowing in for the family of Sam Nordquist, the 24-year-old transgender man from Minnesota who police say was beaten and tortured for more than a month by multiple individuals who later discarded his body in a field.
Sam Nordquist was reported missing on Feb. 9. Police said he arrived in New York in September and had lost contact with loved ones.
Donations are approaching $100,000 to a GoFundMe page that was posted to cover expenses for Nordquist's family.
There are at least two candlelight vigils on Monday night in Nordquist's memory, one at the state capitol building and the other at St. Paul's Lutheran Church.
Both are scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m., and anyone planning to attend is asked to dress warm for the services.
Organizers are suggesting that anyone who doesn't want to attend the vigils in the freezing cold to instead post a photo on social media with the hashtag "Justice For Sam."
On Sunday, the Ontario County District Attorney and New York State Police said in a joint statement that there is "no indication" at this time that Norquist's murder was a hate crime.
"To help alleviate the understandable concern his murder could be 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 the instant offense," the agencies said in a joint press release.
Major Kevin Sucher, commander of the state police troop that includes the Finger Lakes region, said the facts and circumstances of the case were “beyond depraved” and “by far the worst” homicide investigation the office has ever been part of.
“No human being should have to endure what Sam endured,” he said, during televised news conference. Police did not share many details of the case, noting it remained under active investigation.
Those arrested include Precious Arzuaga, 38, and Patrick Goodwin, 30, of Canandaigua, New York; Kyle Sage, 33, of Rochester, New York; Jennifer Quijano, 30, of Geneva, New York; and Emily Motyka, 19, of Lima, New York. All five were charged with second-degree murder after police on Thursday searched a room at the Patty’s Lodge motel in Canandaigua, the last place Nordquist was known to be staying.
All five were being held in police custody, pending arraignment. It was unclear whether any had obtained an attorney.
The investigation has so far revealed a “deeply disturbing pattern of abuse” that ultimately resulted in Nordquist’s death, said Swift, who called it “one of the most horrific crimes” she has ever investigated in her 20-year law enforcement career.