2 More Arrested In Months-Long Torture and Murder of Trans Man as Angry Mom Slams Response by Authorities

On Friday, the New York State Police announced that 29-year-old Kimberly L. Sochia (above left) and 21-year-old Thomas G. Eaves (above right) were both arrested for Murder in the Second Degree – Depraved Indifference. No other details about their arrests have been revealed at this time; both are being held at Ontario County Jail until their arraignments.

With these two arrests, now seven people have been charged in connection with Sam Nordquist’s (above center) death.

Precious Arzuaga, 38 (top left), Kyle Sage, 33 (top center), Emily Motyka, 19 (top right), Patrick Goodwin, 30 (bottom left) and Jennifer Quijano, 30 (bottom right) were all arrested last Friday and also charged with murder.

Sam, who had not seen by his family since last month and was officially reported missing on February 9, was tragically found discarded in a field in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

It’s unclear what relation the two new suspects have to the other five.

On Thursday, February 13, a search warrant was executed at Arzuaga’s residence and Nordquist’s body was found in a field in Yates County

New York State Police Captain Kelly Swift said their investigation determined that the victim “endured prolonged physical and psychological abuse” and “repeated acts of violence and torture” in the time between early December and early February.

According to the criminal complaint, as detailed by WHAM, Nordquist was sexually assaulted with a table leg and broomsticks, beaten with sticks, dog toys, ropes, and bents until he died. His body was then “transported in an attempt to conceal the crime,” according to Swift.

“The facts and the circumstances of this crime are beyond depraved,” District Attorney Jim Ritts told the media. “This is by far the worst homicide investigation that our office has ever been a part of. It is an ongoing investigation, so we are necessarily limited in the things that we can talk about. But no human being should have to endure what Sam endured.”

CBS News reported that Ontario County District Attorney and New York State Police said in a joint statement that there is “no indication” that the murder was 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,” said the agencies in their statement.

The last time Sam’s mother Linda Nordquist saw her son in person was when he left Minnesota in September for New York to visit Arzuaga, who Sam met online and spoke with daily.

“They were on the phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They both appeared very happy,” Linda said in a new interview with NBC News.

When Sam didn’t return home on the flight he had booked for October and stopped responding to phone calls or texts, Linda said she asked police to make a welfare check. Sam’s mother then said she got a call from both Sam and Arzuaga, letting her know he intended to stick around New York.

“He didn’t sound like himself. It’s like he was being coached what to say,” Linda said of their conversations after that.

In early December, she said she received an email from the Ontario County Department of Social Services, asking for her to contact them about Sam. She claimed the social services agent told them Sam visited their offices claiming Arzuaga had control over his phone and that he was trying to make an “escape plan” to return home.

Linda told the outlet she doesn’t know why DSS didn’t “lock the door, call the police and leave Sam there,” instead of setting a followup meeting for later that month for which he didn’t show.

When Sam went silent on them again, Linda said they requested another wellness check, claiming police said they visited the hotel where Sam was staying and were told he left weeks ago after splitting from Arzuaga.

It’s then Linda says she requested to file a missing person’s report, but was told by a state trooper, “I need to stop watching so much TV, something about it not being a true crime episode … I need to stop watching so much TV and that they don’t pass out missing people flyers.”

In response, New York State Police said they “did not decline” to file a report and “took appropriate investigative steps.” The Canandaigua Police Department, meanwhile, said no officers spoke with Sam’s family before his death — while The Ontario County Department of Social Services didn’t respond for comment.

“Sam may be alive today if they would have done their jobs,” Linda told NBC News.