Multiple homosexuals and convicted pedophiles among five arrested in torture death of female-to-male transgender
24-year-old Sam Nordquist was allegedly tortured to death over two months in a motel that is listed as the residence for 5 violent sex offenders.
Updated Feb. 19, 2025 - 6:15 PM EST: “St. Patty’s Lodge” is corrected to “Patty’s Lodge.”
Updated Feb. 16, 2025 - 6:16 PM EST: Ontario County District Attorney appears to have ruled out hate crime charges.
Ontario County, NY – Five individuals of varied races, some with prior sex crime convictions, have been charged with second-degree murder following the discovery of the tortured remains of a mixed-race, female-to-male transgender individual on Payne Road in Benton, NY.
During a February 14 press conference, police announced they had executed a search warrant at Room 22 of Patty’s Lodge in Hopewell, NY, the previous day. Around the same time, authorities found the body of 24-year-old Sam (Samantha) Nordquist in a field on Payne Road.
The investigation began as a missing persons case on February 9 after Nordquist’s family, who are from Minnesota, reported that Sam had been staying at Patty’s Lodge and had lost contact with them. Nordquist’s mother later told WROC that Nordquist had traveled to Hopewell last year to meet one of the female suspects for a romantic relationship.
That suspect, 38-year-old Precious Arzuaga, is seen in various social media posts from as recently as October of last year kissing and dancing intimately with the victim.
According to New York State Police (NYSP), Nordquist had endured physical and psychological abuse at Patty’s Lodge from December of last year until her death sometime this month.
The five suspects arrested were charged with second-degree murder by depraved indifference and remain in custody.
According to the NYS Senate web site, murder by depraved indifference occurs when someone “… recklessly engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of death to another person and thereby causes the death of another person.
Ontario County District Attorney Jim Ritts, a Republican, stated at the February 14 press conference that the charges carry a potential sentence of 15 to 25 years in prison. When asked about Nordquist’s possible relationship with Arzuaga, authorities said they could not confirm or deny the allegation.
On February 16, just a few hours after this article was originally posted, WROC published a headline quoting DA Ritts, stating there was “no indication Sam Nordquist’s death was a hate crime.”
“[Sam’s] 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 offense,” Ritts added.
However, on August 10, 2024, Arzuaga posted on social media that she had entered a romantic relationship.
The same day, an affectionate TikTok ‘duet’ featuring Arzuaga and Nordquist was uploaded on what seems to be Nordquist’s TikTok.
The other suspects are as follows:
Jennifer A. Quijano, 30, of Geneva, NY;
Kyle Sage, 33, of Hopewell, NY;
Emily Motyka, 19, of Rochester, NY;
Patrick A. Goodwin, 30 whom NYSP said lives in Rochester.
Goodwin is a registered sex offender with a violent classification and convicted pedophile. His address is listed as Patty’s Lodge, per the NYS sex offender registry.
Linda Nordquist, Sam’s grieving mother was asked by WROC if Sam was the victim of a hate crime. She responded affirmatively but was still noncommittal.
“I don’t know, I don’t want to speculate, but it’s some type of hate crime,” Linda Nordquist told WROC.
Though publicly available details about the case remain limited, authorities, including NYSP Captain Kelly Swift and District Attorney Jim Ritts, have told multiple media outlets that hate crime charges have not been ruled out.
Meanwhile, organizations such as the local chapter of the Human Rights Campaign, a controversial queer violence tracker, have weighed in, attributing the crime to "hateful rhetoric," However, known information about the suspects appears to contradict this narrative, as several of them have documented histories of various paraphilias, some of which are publicly available.
Suspects
Kyle Sage is a current parolee who was convicted of 4th degree larceny and disseminating indecent material to a minor in 2022. He had been on parole since May of last year before being arrested this week for Sam Nordquist’s murder.
Emily Motyka, a 19-year-old White woman, has been posting pro-queer content on social media since her early teens. Her photos include a profile picture of herself in formal wear alongside another female, labeled “Love is love.”
Another image features a rainbow overlay with the text “But I’m gay.” Strikingly, Motyka is also frequently seen wearing men's clothing and sporting a short haircut. In a seemingly contradictory gesture, she once applied a Confederate flag filter to one of her photos.
Patrick Goodwin, previously mentioned, was convicted in 2015 of repeatedly raping a 7-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl. Despite the severity of his crimes, he was sentenced to just 10 and a half years in prison.
According to the sex offender registry, Goodwin is one of at least five registered sex offenders who list Patty’s Lodge as their primary address.
All five confirmed sex offenders residing at Patty’s Lodge are classified as sexually violent and have been convicted of crimes against children. The property appears to contain just under 20 units on-site.
Astonishingly, online listings and customer reviews on Google suggest that the motel remains open for public use.
Sam Nordquist’s apparent love interest, Precious Arzuaga, has no known convictions. However, she has previously been arrested on charges including filing a false application for welfare assistance, failure to provide sustenance to a confined animal, and animal cruelty.
One of Arzuaga’s Facebook posts from several years ago pays tribute to two of her children who appear to have died. In what seems to be a response to criticism, Arzuaga defended herself, insisting that she has good parenting skills:
“I don’t care what anyone says, I am the best mother my children have, and I will continue to prove that…”
One of Arzuaga’s 2023 profile pictures features a young child overlaid with a pride flag filter, reflecting her liberal views on sexuality.
Limited information is available about Jennifer Quijano, the remaining suspect. However, though Quijano appears to be a Hispanic surname, she is White-passing and has been classified as White in jail census data.
Further complicating potential hate crime charges, is the presence of both a Puerto Rican and Pride style flag adorning the windows of Patty’s Lodge #22, where police allege Sam Nordquist was held until her death.
While it's unclear who the flags in Room 22 belong to, they likely belong to one of the suspects.
The 2024 Google Maps images do not show the flags, and the leaves are still green, strongly suggesting the photos were taken before December—when Nordquist was allegedly being tortured.
Community Response
Aside from questioning reporters from the legacy media, the HRC-WCNY appears to be the only notable organization suggesting that political outrage is an appropriate response. The president of HRC National attributed the crime to “discriminatory policies and hateful rhetoric we see from leaders at the highest levels,” implying that anti-trans sentiment played a role.
In Rochester, the national organization has recently involved itself in at least one case of a transgender person’s death, often assigning blame to society at-large in labeling the incidents as “transgender violence,” regardless of context.
In October 2024, a Black male-to-female transgender person, Honee Daniels, was killed in a late night hit-and-run on Lyell Avenue in Rochester. Despite no evidence suggesting Daniels was targeted, HRC’s Shoshana Goldberg released an article calling the incident “at least the 28th violent killing of a transgender or gender-expansive person HRC has identified in 2024.”
Just over two weeks later, the driver, Vincent Moore, turned himself in and was reportedly cooperating with authorities.
Moore, whose race is unknown, pleaded not guilty to charges of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and aggravated unlicensed operation. The latter charge applies when a driver should have been aware that their license was not valid.
Despite no indication that Daniels’ death was intentional, it was still included in the Human Rights Campaign’s 2024 transgender violence statistics.