CANANDAIGUA, N.Y– A grand jury indicted seven people for first-degree murder in the torture and killing of a Minnesota transgender man. The county prosecutor, Jim Ritts, presented the case for murder to the grand jury. The indictments paved the way for trials of the seven defendants, ages 19 to 38, if thry plead innocent. The body of the Minnesota man, Sam Nordquist, was found dumped in a field south of this western New York city on January 13. The grisliness of the crime, according to grand jury documents, was worse than originally reported by officials. The documents say two children, ages 12 and 7, were forced to engage in the torture. The indictment also says the seven adult defendants tortured Nordquist because they enjoyed it. Asked whether the indictments should have been elevated to hate crime status, assistant prosecutor Kelly Wolford called the case “bigger than a hate crime.” She noted that New York has not had a death penalty since 2007 and that a first-degree murder convictions can mean life in prison without parole.
Earlier: More arrests in depraved Nordquist slaying