Today in Canandaigua, New York, Precious Arzuaga, 40, was walked into a Ontario County Courthouse where she pled guilty to all charges in the murder and torture of Sam Nordquist, a 24 year old Trans masculine man who had traveled from Minnesota to Central New York to meet her in late 2024.

Despite the disproportionate number of Trans people, specifically Black Trans women, that are murdered in the United States every year, justice is few and far between. When cis Black and Indigenous women, children and Two-Spirit go missing they barely get media attention. When Black Trans women are murdered and discarded, they are typically misgendered by police and media, their cases are barely investigated and cases go cold. There is no equity in life or justice in death. Tiny spots of lights sometime appear among a blanket of darkness when the precious life of a victim is honored by catching a killer.

Dmitriy Popov, 20, was convicted of manslaughter as a hate crime on Monday in the death of dancer O’Shae Sibley, who was killed in 2023 at a Brooklyn gas station when Popov and friends shouted racist and homophobic slurs to Sibley’s group while they vogued to a Beyoncé song.

One of the seven defendants awaiting trial for the 2025 torture and murder of Sam Nordquist in upstate/central New York reached a guilty plea today with the Ontario County Court. The youngest defendant at just 19 years of age has been the only one of the seven to accept responsibility or express remorse per Ontario County District Attorney Jason MacBride.

Seven individuals appeared in Ontario County Court this week to prepare for their upcoming trials in connection with the murder and torture of 24-year-old Sam Nordquist, a transgender man from Minnesota. The defendants—Precious Arzuaga, Kyle Sage, Patrick Goodwin, Emily Motyka, Jennifer Quijano, Kimberly Sochia, and Thomas Eaves—are each accused of participating in the kidnapping, sexual assault, and killing of Nordquist in late 2024.

Nordquist had traveled to Canandaigua, New York, in the fall of 2024 to meet Arzuaga, whom he considered a romantic interest. What began as a short visit extended unexpectedly, prompting concern from his family when they lost contact with him after several months. Authorities questioned Arzuaga about Nordquist’s whereabouts, but she denied any knowledge of his location.

On February 13, 2025, Nordquist’s body was discovered in a field in Yates County.