Matt Lavietes is a reporter for NBC Out.
CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. — Sam Nordquist left home in Minnesota last fall and traveled 1,000 miles to be with a woman he’d fallen in love with online. He ended up imprisoned in a cut-rate hotel in upstate New York, suffering unspeakable horrors before he was killed.
activists have said the case is a dark reminder of the risks marginalized people face in America, particularly today. The seven suspects are all being held without bail. NBC News tried to reach their family and friends, but those who returned calls or answered doors declined to comment. The Ontario County Conflict Defender’s Office, which is representing the defendants, declined to comment. None of the seven has yet entered a plea.
advocates have held vigils and protests in his honor. Advocates have also publicly questioned why the case hasn’t been considered a hate crime. Some have compared Sam to 21-year-old Matthew Shepard, a gay man who was beaten, tied to a fence and left for dead in 1998. Shepard’s murder drew international attention and fueled a movement for anti-
hate crime legislation. Transgender people, in particular men, are significantly more likely to face intimate partner violence, according to federal data and a 2024 investigation published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. But those accused in the death were not charged with a hate crime.
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Mom of Sam Nordquist, transgender man tortured and killed in New York, slams police responseMatt Lavietes is a reporter for NBC Out.
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