The Secret From Room 22

Sam Nordquist, A transgender man who was murdered.

By Alice Lopez, March 6th 2025

Sam Nordquist a 24 ear old transgender male, traveled over 1000 miles to meet his love interest who he had been talking to for about 6 months, Precious Arzuaga. He traveled across the country to a hotel called Patty’s Lodge and stayed in room 22, a hotel surround by farmland in Canandaigua, New York. Everything seemed to be going normal claimed his mother but she got suspicious after Sam did not return home on the day of October 12th. Later on it was found Sam had been murdered and held captive for around a month, Police arrested 7 suspects one including his love interest Precious Arzuaga. 

Before this all happen his mother had already had assumptions about Sam being controlled. His mother claimed they talked on the phone day and night and a full 7 days of the week. His mother also claimed he was very vulnerable because just like many others, he was looking for love, and Precious “flooded” him with affection, he had been “love bombed”. 

His mother had been begging the authorities to go check up on him after he had been unresponsive to her calls and text messages, the police arrived at the hotel and claimed “They talked to Sam and everything was fine well, thats because Precious was there.” Sam’s mother said Sam was scared, and at that moment the two should have been separated. 

Sam had been very infrequent when reaching out to family and most of the time he had not even answered unless his mother threated to call the police to room 22. His mother claimed when talking to Sam “He didn’t sound like himself. It’s like he was being coached on what to say,” she said. “Sam lived with me his whole, entire life. We were always together. So I know how Sam talks — and this was not Sam.” He had called his mother on New Years Day and kept his responses short the last thing he had said to his mother was “I love you, Ill talk to you tomorrow.”

He had been tortured for weeks starting on what the court claims January 2nd. He had been held captive while being mocked, tortured, and humiliated. The group had kicked him, beat him with sticks, they starved him and forced him to consume bodily fluids. With all of this going on there had been no witnesses who heard or seen the torturing. After weeks of this torture going on, the 7 gang members had killed Sam, wrapped his body in plastic bags and disposed him into a empty field. 

The 7 people in the gang, including Precious, had been arrested and charged with first degree murder. They are all being held without bail. His mother claims the authorities had failed to protect her child because he was part of the LGBTQ+ community.