The seven suspects charged with the month-long captivity, torture, and murder of Sam Nordquist were arraigned in a New York courtroom on Tuesday, local ABC affiliate WHAM reports. All seven were led separately before cameras and into the courtroom, where they all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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Nordquist, 24, traveled from Minnesota to upstate New York on January 2, but prosecutors allege the defendants prevented him from leaving. Instead, authorities say they kept him captive in room 22 of Patty’s Lodge, a small motel in Canandaigua, where they tortured him for the next month before killing him on or around February 2. Two children were reportedly forced to take part in the Nordquist’s torture.
Nordquit's body was dumped in a field and discovered on February 13.
Precious Arzuaga, 38; Jennifer Quijano, 30; Kyle Sage, 33; Patrick Goodwin, 30; Emily Motyka, 19; Kimberly L. Sochia, 29; and Thomas Eaves, 19, were charged with murder in the first degree, which requires both torturing the victim before the murder and deriving enjoyment from their actions, as well as other charges relating to the crime.
Arzuaga, wearing handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit, started crying as the judge read the charges. Arzuaga also faces additional charges related to forcing two children, aged 7 and 12, to participate in the torture of Nordquist.
The other defendants also pleaded not guilty. None of the seven suspects requested bail and all were remanded to jail.
Eaves, Arzuaga’s son, threw a kiss to someone amongst the spectators as he was escorted from the courtroom. His attorney, Larry Kasperek, later spoke with the media from the courthouse steps.
“As I indicated, the grand jury only heard one side of the story. They didn't hear everything,” Kasperek said. “The district attorney’s office has cast a pretty wide net regarding these matters and accused the individuals of very serious circumstances.”
Prosecutors have yet to provide a motive, but they did say Nordquist and his accused killers knew each other. In addition to the familial ties between Azuaga and Eaves, Nordquist reportedly was in a relationship with Azuaga.
“There are relationships among all of these people,” Orange County Assistant District Attorney Kelly Wolford said at the press conference last week. “They were all known to each other. There are some romantic relationships. There are some familiar relationships. And there are some people that just knew each other from being around the area.”
Wolford went into disturbing detail in describing what Nordquist endured during the last month of his life, allegedly at the hands of the defendants.
"Sam was confined,” Wolford said. “He was forced to kneel and stand against a wall. He was physically assaulted. He was sexually assaulted. He was prevented from using his phone...They forced him to obey their commands, treating him like a dog.”
Prosecutors declined to add hate-crime enhancements to the charges, saying the case is “bigger than a hate crime” and that adding hate-crime charges would “make this charge about Sam’s gender or about Sam’s race, and it’s so much bigger.”
Wolford said prosecutors were particularly disturbed that children were allegedly forced to participate in the torture of Nordquist.
“We have a 7- 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.”
The defendants face life in prison if convicted on all charges.
