CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. — Seven people accused of killing a 24-year-old man in upstate New York subjected him to weeks of torture that included sexual assault, forcing him to eat feces and pouring bleach on him, prosecutors said Wednesday.
The disturbing allegations came as the suspects were indicted on first-degree murder charges in the death of Sam Nordquist, whose body was found last month wrapped in plastic and dumped in a field in the Finger Lakes region.
The group, who had previously been arrested for second-degree murder, were also accused of kidnapping and child endangerment in the 11-count indictment.
Nordquist, a Black man from Minnesota, was transgender but authorities have said they have no evidence of a hate crime. There are alleged assailants who identified as LGBTQ+ and at least one lived with Nordquist, authorities said.
While not a hate crime, Ontario County Assistant District Attorney Kelly Wolford said at a news conference that Nordquist was treated “like a dog” in the month before his death on Feb. 2.
“Sam was beaten, assaulted, sexually abused, starved, held captive and we cannot make sense of that,” Wolford said. “We cannot put that on his gender, and we cannot put that on his race. And I know many will ask the question: Why? Well, as I stand here today as a human being, we’ll never know the answer why.”
Wolford said the top charge was increased to first-degree murder because Nordquist was tortured.
One defendant, Precious Arzuaga, was charged with coercing two children, aged 7 and 12, to take part in the activity outlined in the indictment.
The other six people charged with murder are: Patrick Goodwin, Kyle Sage, Jennifer Quijano, Emily Motyka, Kimberly Sochia and Thomas Eaves.
There was no arraignment date.
Emails and messages were left with attorneys for six of the defendants Wednesday.
Nordquist was reported missing on Feb. 9. Police said he arrived in New York in September and had lost contact with loved ones this year.
The initial arrests were made after police searched a room at the Patty’s Lodge motel in Canandaigua, New York, the last place Nordquist was known to be staying.
Nordquist’s mother has told Syracuse.com that he left Minnesota for New York in September to meet a woman he had become romantically involved with after connecting online.
Linda Nordquist said her son was supposed to fly home in October but decided to stay longer to work on the relationship.