7 Suspects Charged with First-Degree Murder as Authorities Share 'Disturbing' Details in Killing of Sam Nordquist

• Seven suspects arrested in connection with the killing of Sam Nordquist — the 24-year-old transgender man who they say was subjected to over a month of abuse — have now been named and charged in an 11-count indictment, according to New York prosecutors
• Each defendant is being charged with first-degree murder, Ontario County Assistant District Attorney Kelly Wolford revealed during a news conference on Wednesday, March 5
• Among the additional charges, the indictment also charges each suspect with endangering the welfare of a child, with one defendant specifically facing two counts of first-degree coercion for allegedly forcing two children — aged 7 and 12 — to participate in the Nordquist’s alleged torture

New York prosecutors announced this week that the seven suspects arrested in connection with the killing of Sam Nordquist — the 24-year-old transgender man who they say was subjected to over a month of abuse — have now been named and charged in an 11-count indictment.

As previously reported, Nordquist’s remains were discovered in a field last month and five people were initially arrested and charged with murder in the second degree with depraved indifference: Precious Arzuaga, 38; Jennifer A. Quijano, 30; Kyle Sage, 33; Patrick A. Goodwin, 30; and Emily Motyka, 19.

After New York State Police announced the initial arrests on Feb. 14, 29-year-old Kimberly L. Sochia and 21-year-old Thomas G. Eaves were arrested days later in connection with the investigation.

Now, prosecutors are detailing the charges the seven suspects face, as well as the “disturbing” crimes they’re accused of committing.

During a news conference on Wednesday, March 5, Ontario County Assistant District Attorney Kelly Wolford shared that Nordquist, 24, was allegedly held captive in Patty’s Lodge in Hopewell, N.Y. while being physically and sexually assaulted, denied “proper nutrition and hydration,” “fed feces,” forced to “drink urine,” forced to obey “commands” and treated “like a dog.” Wolford also shared that Nordquist’s alleged torture included suspects pouring bleach on him and covering his face with fabric and duct tape.

“This is a situation where now you have in front of you some of the things that Sam endured in captivity. It’s just a portion,” Wolford said. “It’s just what we know now. And we expect as the investigation and prosecution continues that there’ll be much more.”

Each defendant is being charged with first-degree murder, Wolford revealed during the news conference, shared in full by CBS affiliate WROC, as she called it, “New York’s most significant charge” that carries the possibility of a sentence of life without parole.

Among the additional charges, the indictment also charges each suspect with endangering the welfare of a child, with Arzuaga specifically facing two counts of first-degree coercion for allegedly forcing two children — seven and 12 — to participate in the Nordquist’s alleged torture. As the assistant D.A. explained, the children’s lives are “forever changed by what they saw and endured” after being “forced to participate.”

“Obviously, they’re all charged with endangering the welfare of a child and that coercion charge is disturbing,” she said. “To have two children have to participate in the beating of another human being, it’s deeply disturbing. And it has, I can speak for myself and everyone involved in this investigation, been one of the more troubling part of this. It’s heartbreaking.”

After the alleged torture, Nordquist was “dumped out on the side of the road in a farmer’s field, wrapped in plastic bags,” per the assistant D.A.

The Office of the Ontario County Conflict Defender, which NBC News reported is representing the seven suspects, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Thursday, March 6.

During Wednesday’s news conference, the assistant D.A. reiterated that authorities charged “the highest count that is available under New York State law” when addressing why suspects were not charged with hate crimes, calling the case “bigger than a hate crime.”

“To limit us to a hate crime would be an injustice to Sam. Sam deserves to have this story told in its entirety,” she said. “Sam was beaten, assaulted, sexually abused, starved, held captive and we cannot make sense of that.”

Nordquist was from Minnesota. His family previously told the Democrat & Chronicle that he bought a round-trip plane ticket to Canandaigua to meet a woman in September but did not get back on a plane to return in October as planned. Police initially said he was in contact with his family at the end of January, as previously noted.

According to the New York State Police, he was “subjected to ongoing physical abuse between December 2024 and February 2025,” which was discovered following “extensive investigative efforts.”

Captain Kelly Swift of the New York State Police Troop E’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation said in February that the case was one of the “most horrific crimes” she’d ever investigated in her 20-year career in law enforcement.