Applause and cheers filled an Ontario County courtroom Tuesday as Precious Arzuaga and Jennifer "Brooklyn" Quijano, two people who admitted to torturing and murdering 24-year-old Sam Nordquist in 2025, were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Precious Arzuaga and Jennifer "Brooklyn" Quijano both received the maximum sentence for their roles in Nordquist's death.
Arzuaga, whom prosecutors have called the "ring leader" in the case, pleaded guilty to all 10 charges she faced in June, including first-degree murder, kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, coercion and concealment of a human corpse.
Prosecutors have said Arzuaga met Sam on TikTok in the summer of 2024. The two began a romantic relationship, and Nordquist flew
from Minnesota to the Canandaigua area to stay with Arzuaga for what his family believed was supposed to be a two-week vacation.
Arzuaga and Quijano admitted to torturing Nordquist to death between Jan. 1 and Feb. 1, 2025, along with five other defendants in room 22 of Patty's Lodge in Hopewell, New York, before disposing of his body in a field in Yates County.
"Sam came here looking for love, and sadly and tragically he found you," Ontario County Judge Kristina Karle told Arzuaga during her sentencing.
Here's what to know.
Precious Arzuaga sentenced to life in prison
Arzuaga received the maximum sentence on her first-degree murder charge: life in prison without the possibility of parole.
She was also sentenced to:
- First-degree kidnapping (two counts): maximum sentence of 25 years to life and must register as a sex offender
- Second-degree conspiracy: maximum sentence of eight and one-third years to 25 years in prison
- First-degree aggravated sexual abuse: maximum sentence of 25 years in prison plus 20 years post-release supervision
- First-degree coercion (two counts): maximum sentence of two and one-third to seven years in prison
- Concealment of a human corpse: maximum sentence of one and one-third to four years in prison
- Endangering the welfare of a child (two counts): 364 days in prison each for both counts
'Sam can never leave New York alive'
Linda Nordquist, Sam Nordquist's mother, provided her victim impact statement to the court during Arzuaga's sentencing Tuesday.
"Precious, you may have believed you had the power to decide how my son's story would end, but you did not," she said. She told the court that her son was kind, gentle, loving and trusting of others.
Ontario County First Assistant District Attorney James Nobles told the court that Arzuaga was at the center of the group accused of torturing Sam to death.
"I have no question in my mind that without her, Sam would be here today," Nobles told Judge Karle on Tuesday. He said her guilty plea saved the community and Sam's family from the depraved evidence and facts of the case, including a text she sent to her co-conspirators: "Sam can never leave New York alive."
Arzuaga then took her chance to speak, apologizing to Sam Nordquist's family.
"What was stated previously by the family was true. Sam really did love me and my kids, and I'm willing to accept whatever punishment you are to give me," Arzuaga said as people in the courtroom audibly laughed at her apology.
Judge Karle said Arzuaga's history of domestic incident reports with previous romantic partners showed a pattern of her behavior.
"When I was reading these reports, I was wondering why someone so good was taken tragically. Was it because Sam was everything you are not and would never be," Karle asked Arzuaga.
The courtroom filled with applause as Arzuaga was taken out of the courtroom.
Jennifer Quijano sentenced to life in prison
Quijano also received the maximum sentence on her first-degree murder charge: life in prison without the possibility of parole.
She was also sentenced to:
- First-degree kidnapping (two counts): maximum sentence of 25 years to life and must register as a sex offender
- Second-degree conspiracy: maximum sentence of eight and one-third years to 25 years in prison
- First-degree aggravated sexual abuse: maximum sentence of 25 years in prison plus 20 years post-release supervision
- Concealment of a human corpse: maximum sentence of one and one-third to four years in prison
- Endangering the welfare of a child (two counts): 364 days in prison each for both counts
Jennifer Quijano named 'the muscle' behind the crime
Ontario County Assistant District Attorney Sara Van Strydonck told the court Tuesday that Quijano's motive in Nordquist's torture and killing was simple and common: jealousy.
Van Strydonck said Arzuaga and Quijano were once romantically involved, to the point where Quijano called Arzuaga her "baby moms" and Arzuaga called her "baby dads." Arzuaga, she said, was the one pulling the strings within the group, while Quijano was "the muscle behind it."
She explained that photo and video evidence in the case shows Quijano and the six other defendants pinning Nordquist between chairs in the corner of the room at Patty's Lodge while they berated him.
Nordquist was also forced into a dog cage on multiple occasions, and Quijano would refer to him as a "two-legged dog," Van Strydonck said.
Kayla Nordquist, Sam Nordquist's sister, gave her impact statement, telling Quijano that she continuously made choices that ultimately led to Sam's death.
"There are moments when I catch myself wondering if just one person had chosen differently, would my brother still be here," she said. "If one person said this is wrong. If one person helped him escape. If one person treated him as a human instead of an object that could be controlled."
Quijano's lawyer, Neil Gunther, told Judge Karle that Quijano was also a victim of Arzuaga. He explained that Arzuaga physically and mentally abused Quijano for years, and that Quijano takes responsibility for her actions.
"When I was in court last time, I could hear Sam's family crying, and I want them to know that I could feel that," Quijano said in a written statement her lawyers read aloud in court. "I'm sorry I hurt Sam, and I'm sorry I didn't help Sam."
Judge Karle said she appreciated what Gunther said and that it might have made sense that Quijano was also a victim of Arzuaga if she didn't participate in "these cruel, torturous, horrific, dehumanizing actions toward Sam."
She said Quijano could have been a savior to Nordquist, but instead she participated in his torture and enjoyed it.
"Calling a human being a two-legged dog and caging them," Judge Karle said with tears in her eyes. "That is not someone who is a bystander caught in the web of Precious Arzuaga."
What is next?
Quijano and Arzuaga are the only two defendants who have been sentenced so far.
Emily Motyka and Kyle Sage have pleaded guilty to their roles in Nordquist's death. Sage's sentencing is scheduled for December, but Motyka's sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
Thomas Eaves, Kimberly Sochia and Patrick Goodwin are awaiting trial. Their trials are scheduled to start in January 2027.
—Madison Scott is a New York Connect reporter, covering entertainment, breaking and consumer news, and trending topics with a focus on stories that matter to readers across New York State. She also has an interest in how the system helps or doesn't helpfamilies with missing loved ones. She can be reached at MDScott@USATodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Two defendants in Sam Nordquist murder case sentenced to life without parole
