Mother of Sam Nordquist murder ringleader arrested in Ontario County, NY

Shirley Lee Morales, 56, mother of convicted killer Precious Arzuaga, was arrested Friday on a sealed indictment warrant. Arzuaga was sentenced to life without parole for the murder and torture of Sam Nordquist.

Mother of convicted killer Precious Arzuaga taken into custody in New York

Shirley Lee Morales, 56, the mother of Precious Arzuaga — the ringleader in the murder and torture of Sam Nordquist — was arrested Friday in Ontario County, New York, syracuse.com reports.

Trooper Lynnea Crane, a spokesperson for State Police, confirmed the arrest. Morales was taken into custody on a sealed indictment warrant and transported to the State Police barracks in Canandaigua. She is being held at the Ontario County Jail, according to jail records.

The indictment remains sealed. State Police said no additional information about the charges would be released.

Morales had been a constant presence in the courtroom throughout her daughter's case. In September, she watched as Arzuaga was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. As officers escorted Arzuaga from the courtroom that day, she blew her mother a kiss.

Arzuaga, 40, pleaded guilty in June to all charges against her, including first-degree murder, kidnapping and torture. She admitted to keeping Nordquist prisoner in the room she shared with him and her two children at Patty's Lodge from January 1 to February 1, 2025.

During that month, Arzuaga and six others — including her adult son and two registered sex offenders — kidnapped, beat, tortured and sexually assaulted Nordquist. The group then dumped his body in a field in Yates County, where it was later discovered after his family reported him missing.

Nordquist, 24, was a transgender man whom Arzuaga lured from Minnesota to Canandaigua in September 2024 with the promise of a romantic relationship. What he found instead, according to prosecutors, was a relationship that became increasingly controlling and ultimately fatal.

A person acquainted with Arzuaga and her family described the moment Nordquist died: Arzuaga, in a panic, sought help and made the admission, "We went too far this time."

Three other defendants have already pleaded guilty in connection with the case: Kyle Sage, 35; Emily Motyka, 20; and Jennifer "Brooklyn" Quijano, 32. Quijano was also sentenced in September.

Three remaining defendants — Patrick A. Goodwin, 30; Thomas Eaves, 21; and Kimberly Sochia, 29 — are expected to stand trial in January if they do not enter guilty pleas beforehand, according to the Ontario County District Attorney's Office.

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)