Children Forced Into Helping With 'Especially Cruel' Month-Long Torture of Transgender Man, Prosecutors Reveal

New York prosecutors say a transgender man endured a month of "especially cruel" torture and that those involved even coerced children into participating.

"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. Because what human being could do what happened to Sam? We'll never make sense of this case," said Kelly Wolford, the Ontario County first assistant district attorney.

Wolford announced first-degree murder charges against seven people in the death of 24-year-old Sam Nordquist. Norquist had moved to the Finger Lakes area of New York from Minnesota to be with his online girlfriend, his mother Linda, told KARE-11.

Prosecutors allege that after Nordquist arrived, beginning around January 1, seven people tortured him, beginning a slow death that would be completed on February 2.

Charged with first-degree murder are Precious Arzuaga, Emily Jean Motyka, Jennifer A. Quijano, Kyle R. Sage and Patrick A. Goodwin, Kimberly L. Sochia and Thomas G. Eaves. Wolford said the first-degree charge was applied because they killed Nordquist in an "especially cruel manner with the intent to inflict torture on him before his death."

Wolford said that all of the facts have not come out and that the complete picture of what Nordquist endured is not yet known. But, she said prosecutors do know that he was denied proper nutrition and hydration and forced to eat feces, drink urine, and chew spit. She said that he was physically and sexually assaulted, restrained, commanded like a dog, covered in the face with towels and shirts, duct taped, and had bleach poured on him.

He was also beaten repeatedly with a variety of objects and sexually assaulted with objects. She described it as a "truly horrendous act."

Nordquist's mother told KARE-11 that Nordquist originally came to see Precious Arzuga. According to the charges, it was Arzuga who coerced children - ages 7 and 12 - to participate in the torture. Arzuga's charges included first-degree coercion, Wolford said.

"To have two children participate in the beating of another human being is deeply disturbing," Wolford said. "We have a seven- and 12-year-old who are also victims. They may have been forced to participate, but their lives are forever changed by what they saw and endured."

Wolford did not elaborate on the relationship between Arzuga and the children.

All of the defendants also face second-degree murder and kidnapping charges, as well as conspiracy charges and endangering the welfare of a child.

Police and prosecutors have previously said that the crime was not 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," police and prosecutors said previously in a statement.

Wolford again addressed the issue at the press conference.

"A hate crime would make this charge about Sam's gender or about Sam's race, and it's so much bigger," Wolford said. "To limit us to a hate crime would be an injustice to Sam."