CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. — Investigators have not yet found evidence that the torture and killing of a transgender man whose body was discarded in an upstate New York field was a hate crime, law enforcement officials said.
Five people were charged Friday in the death of Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old transgender man who was reported missing on Feb. 9. State Police Maj. Kevin Sucher called the circumstances of the case “beyond depraved” at a post-arrest news conference in the Finger Lakes region. Officials said the investigation found a “deeply disturbing pattern of abuse” that ultimately led to Nordquist’s death.
The brutal killing has led to questions about whether it was a hate crime.
In a statement released Sunday, the Ontario County District Attorney’s Office said, “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.”
“We urge the community not to speculate into the motive behind the murder as we work to find justice for Sam,” the statement says. “At this time, we have no indication that Sam’s murder was a hate crime.”
Under New York state law, a hate crime is an offense committed “in whole or in substantial part” because of a belief or perception regarding race, gender, gender identity and other identifiers.
Requests for updates to the investigation were made Tuesday to police and prosecutors. It remains unclear if the five suspects have attorneys yet. A message was left seeking comment with the Ontario County public defender’s office.
Nordquist’s mother told Syracuse.com on Monday that he left Minnesota for New York in September to meet a woman he had become romantically involved with after connecting online.
“That’s all Sam ever wanted, was to be loved and to be in a relationship,” Linda Nordquist told the news site, describing him as trusting and loving.
Nordquist was supposed to fly home in October but decided to stay longer to work on the relationship, his mother said. Soon afterward, phone calls between them began to dwindle, which she said was unusual. In December, Linda Nordquist was informed by the Ontario County Department of Social Services that her son had sought help from the agency, saying he was in a controlling relationship and missed home.
Among those accused of killing him is the woman he met online and came to visit, the mother said. The woman and the other four suspects were charged with second-degree murder after police on Thursday searched a room at the Patty’s Lodge motel in Canandaigua, New York, the last place Nordquist was known to be staying.