(Nov. 2, 2026) - Over the weekend reports began circulating that Shirley Morales, mother of Precious Arzuaga, who recently pleaded guilty in the conspiracy, kidnapping and murder of Sam Nordquist in Ontario County, NY in 2025, had been arrested at her place of employment on Friday. Nordquist had traveled from Minnesota in the fall of 2024 to meet Arzuaga who presented herself as a love interest. His short planned trip was extended and when his family eventually lost contact, they contacted local law enforcement for a welfare check. As a result of that investigation, Nordquist’s body was found in a field after being tortured to death and discarded. Since, Arzuaga pleaded guilty in June to first-degree murder and various other charges. She was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Six other defendants were also charged with murder in the case for their participation in the kidnapping and murder of Sam. Four have pleaded guilty. The other three are expected to stand trial, with the first trial scheduled for January.
Arzuaga pleaded guilty but was not offered a deal, per prosecutors, so there was floating speculation that there were additional “shoes to drop” which included potential additional charges, the FBI or Federal government getting involved or additional involved parties being prosecuted. After Morales’ arrest, the District Attorney’s Office announced the indictment would be sealed until arraignment this afternoon. After being seen in County Court, the DA’s Office held a press conference confirming that the charges were related to the Sam Nordquist case. Shirley Morales was charged with:
Count 1: Kidnapping in first degree of Sam Nordquist in location 1
Count 2: Conspiracy in second degree
Count 3: Kidnapping in second degree to kidnap Sam Nordquist to second location.
Morales pled “Not Guilty” to all charges. There is a court conference scheduled on November 18th for attorneys only. No bail application has been made at this time. Our partnering local news station, Rainbow Roc WAYO 104.3 FM was able to obtain a copy of the indictment that lists “S.N.” as the victim and prosecutors confirmed in the press conference that reference to be Sam Nordquist. The investigation is ongoing and prosecutors affirmed that if more evidence is discovered to warrant further arrests and prosecution, they will not hesitate to pursue it.
