Precious Arzuaga, Jennifer Quijano – Spectrum News 1 Screenshots
Two of the women accused of torturing and killing Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old transgender man from Oakdale, Minnesota, have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Precious Arzuaga, 40, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to murder, kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse, conspiracy, coercion, concealment of a human corpse, and endangering the welfare of a child.
Prosecutors alleged that Arzuaga masterminded Nordquist’s torture and murder, enlisting at least six other adults — some of whom were also members of the LGBTQ community — to help carry out the crime and forcing two children to participate in his abuse.
Investigators said Nordquist was held captive in a motel room, where he was beaten, tortured, and sexually assaulted for more than a month before his death. They also alleged that Arzuaga cut off or severely restricted his contact with his family in Minnesota. During their few phone conversations with him, family members said Nordquist was tight-lipped and appeared to have been coached.
Following his death, Nordquist’s body was wrapped in plastic bags and discarded in a field in rural Yates County, about 20 minutes from Hopewell. Authorities discovered his remains on February 13, 2025.
Jennifer Quijano, 32, Arzuaga’s on-again, off-again girlfriend, was also sentenced to life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to murder, kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse, conspiracy, concealment of a human corpse, and endangering the welfare of a child.
Nordquist’s mother, Linda, read aloud a victim impact statement and letters addressed to both women. She described the pain of losing a child and shared her favorite memory of her son.
Nordquist’s sister, Kayla, who also read aloud a victim impact statement and letters to the two defendants. She told Spectrum News that while guilty pleas will ensure the women spend the rest of their lives in jail, she worries that her family will never really know what happened to her brother.
The motive for Nordquist’s torture and murder remains unclear. Prosecutors have speculated that Quijano was jealous of Arzuaga’s relationship with Nordquist, but neither defendant has confirmed that theory.
Kayla Nordquist remains angry with her brother’s killers, particularly Arzuaga, whom she previously accused of “lovebombing” her brother online and luring him to New York.
“I was trying to be strong for him — not cry,” she told Spectrum News. “Seeing her, all I see is red…I had a hard time not pointing my face directly towards her while standing up speaking to her and the judge. And I don’t think Precious is sorry.”
Arzuaga cried during her sentencing and apologized to the Nordquist family.
“I just want to say I’m sorry for what happened,” she said. “I can’t take back what happened, although I wish I could. What was previously stated by the family was true. Sam really did love me and my kids, and I’m willing to accept whatever punishment you are to give me in front of everyone.”
After Ontario County Court Judge Kristina Karle imposed the sentence and Arzuaga was led from the courtroom, spectators in the gallery broke into applause.
Quijano did not speak but prepared a statement for her attorneys to share. In it, she acknowledged the Nordquist family’s grief and expressed remorse for her crimes.
Prosecutors placed some of the evidence they would have introduced had Arzuaga or Quijano gone to trial on the record, including text messages they said demonstrated the women’s guilt. Ontario County Chief First Assistant District Attorney Sara VanStrydonck read one message in which Arzuaga allegedly wrote that “Sam can not leave New York alive.” In another message, Quijano said she wanted to “pound his head into a wall.”
Arzuaga, Quijano, and their co-conspirator Kyle Sage remain under federal investigation for their roles in Nordquist’s murder.
Sage pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and second-degree kidnapping last month and is scheduled to be sentenced in December, according to Rochester-based ABC affiliate WHAM. Another accomplice, Emily Motyka, pleaded guilty to the same charges in June. Her sentencing has not been scheduled.
The three remaining alleged accomplices — Patrick Goodwin, Kimberly Sochia, and Arzuaga’s adult son, Thomas Eaves — face separate trials. Goodwin and Sochia are scheduled to stand trial in January, while Eaves is scheduled to stand trial in March.
"At my core, I'll always be the kid from the trailer park," says U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, who is running for one of Minnesota's two U.S. Senate seats. "I have a theory that you don't move very far from where you begin, even if you, outwardly, get really lucky and do. So I've always been someone who, as a member of Congress, has been fighting for economic opportunity and good jobs and lowering costs for people."
Craig, whose father was largely absent during her childhood, was raised along with her younger brother and sister by her mother and grandmother in Arkansas. The family, who lived in a mobile home, moved to several small towns throughout the state before finally settling near Jonesboro, a city located about 60 miles from Memphis, Tennessee, when Craig was in seventh grade.
An employee at a wastewater treatment plant in suburban Buffalo has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that he was discriminated against because he is gay.
Timothy Burns, who has worked full time at Grand Island's wastewater treatment plant since 2011, claims the harassment and discriminatory treatment began in 2020, according to Buffalo CBS affiliate WIVB.
U.S. Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), an out lesbian who entered Congress after flipping a Republican-held district in 2018, has lost her bid for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.
Craig, 54, was widely considered the more moderate candidate in the race against Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, 46.
Flanagan, who won the primary by nearly 20 points, positioned herself as the progressive candidate at a time when much of the Democratic Party's energy and enthusiasm is coming from its left wing. She earned endorsements from U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Tina Smith -- who is retiring from the seat -- as well as Minneapolis-area Rep. Ilhan Omar.
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