2 people sentenced to life in prison for the killing of Sam Nordquist
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Two of the defendants charged in the brutal killing of a transgender man from Minnesota in upstate New York last year were sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole.
Family and friends of Sam Nordquist attended the sentencing of Precious Arzuaga and Jennifer Quijano in Canandaigua, N.Y. Local media outlets reported that they applauded as Arzuaga — the apparent ringleader — was led out of the courtroom following her sentencing.
Sam Nordquist’s sister, Kayla Nordquist, later spoke outside the courthouse.
“It’s hard to not want to jump over there and do what she did to my brother,” Kayla Nordquist said in remarks broadcast by WROC-TV. “It’s hard to try to hold composure, to be the adult, to be a human. It was hard to be next to the devil and not turn into a demon.”
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Authorities said Sam Nordquist met Arzuaga online and fell in love, and then he traveled to New York to visit her two years ago. After arriving, authorities said Nordquist was held against his will, physically and sexually assaulted, and psychologically abused. His body was found in February 2025 in a rural field.
Prosecutors previously described the crime as “beyond depraved.”
Arzuaga and Quijano pleaded guilty to their charges. Nordquist’s mother, Linda Nordquist, spoke at Tuesday’s hearing, remembering her son as someone who “loved deeply, trusted completely, and always wanted people around him to feel accepted.”
“The people he believed cared about him became the people who ruthlessly terrorized him,” she told the court in video from WROC-TV. “The people he trusted became his nightmare. The people he looked to for love became the people who took his life.”
Spectrum News reported that Arzuaga spoke in court and apologized to Nordquist’s family. Quijano’s attorneys shared a prepared statement, with their client expressing remorse.
In addition to Arzuaga and Quijano, five other people were charged in connection with Nordquist’s killing. Some of those cases remain pending.
A 24-hour statewide sexual violence and domestic violence hotline is available in Minnesota. You can call Minnesota Day One at (866) 223-1111 or text (612) 399-9995.
