ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Following the guilty pleas of three of the seven defendants in the Sam Nordquist murder case, we looked into the federal legal landscape and why they’d plead guilty to their entire indictment, which brings the maximum sentence.
We first learned about a pending federal investigation in the Sam Nordquist murder case when Precious Arzuaga pleaded guilty at the end of June. The judge acknowledged that when accepting Arzuaga’s guilty plea.
Nordquist was a 24-year-old trans man from Minnesota — his family says he came to the Finger Lakes to meet Precious Arzuaga after connecting online. Sam was tortured and beaten to death and kept at Patty’s Lodge in Hopewell. His body was found in a field in Yates County last year.
Arzuaga pleaded guilty at the end of June, and Jennifer Quijano last week — they’ll get life without the possibility of parole. Emily Motyka pleaded guilty in early June, and is facing 15 years to life in prison.
Quijano’s defense acknowledges a federal case does come with the potential for the death penalty. First Assistant District Attorney James Nobles believes pressure from the federal investigation is contributing to the cases being resolved without a trial. “I think working in concert with the other investigation and putting this together, along with the other pleas, sort of built a level of momentum that got us here today.”
Matthew Winchell, an associate attorney with Tully Rinckey, agrees — saying the threat of dealing with federal court could’ve been enough to force this decision.
“Federal court versus state court. It’s a totally different ballgame. You know, there’s a totally different set of rules. It’s not as upfront as it is with state court,” said Winchell. “And you never know what’s going to happen when you get into federal court. Sentencing is up to the judge. And a lot of people would rather keep it in state court and deal with the district attorney’s office than to get it transferred to federal court and have to deal with the U.S. Attorney’s office and the federal courts. It can be a nightmare.”
No Federal charges have been announced, and it’s not clear what crimes those would cover. There are still four defendants in this case set to go to trial for the state’s case.
