Another defendant charged with torturing and murdering 24-year-old Sam Nordquist in 2025 has pleaded guilty.
Jennifer “Brooklyn” Quijano, who is one of seven defendants charged in connection with Sam’s death, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to all 8 charges she faced in front of Ontario County Judge Kristina Karle, with the understanding that she will serve life in prison without parole.
Linda Nordquist, Sam’s mother, and Kayla Nordquist, his sister, made the 17-hour drive from Minnesota once again to see the court proceedings play out in person. Their cries could be heard in the courtroom as Quijano admitted to torturing, kidnapping, sexually assaulting and murdering Sam.
“I try to conduct myself, but if my body did what my mind was feeling, I would be all over the place,” Kayla said about seeing Quijano in court. “I think about Sam crying, and screaming, and begging for help and no one was helping.”
Quijano will be back in court on Sept. 8 for sentencing, but like Arzuaga, she could face more legal proceedings as the federal government is pursuing its own investigation into her actions, which could potentially bring even harsher punishments than life without parole.
“The federal case does come with the potential of a death penalty, so that is something that is a part of this case that we were kind of working through as we tried to figure out what happened here,” Quijano’s lawyer, Neil Gunther, said outside of the courthouse on Wednesday.
Gunther said that Quijano has different lawyers representing her in the federal case, though no charges have been filed as of now.
Quijano is now the third defendant to plead guilty in connection with Sam’s death, as Precious Arzuaga, 40, who prosecutors have called the “ring leader,” pleaded guilty to all 10 charges in June, and Emily Motyka, 20, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and second-degree kidnapping earlier this month.
Here is what to know.
What charges did Quijano plead guilty to?
Quijano pled guilty to all 8 charges related to Nordquist’s death.
The charges include:
Quijano was also facing two separate assault charges stemming from incidents inside the Ontario County Jail, where she was being held for her crimes in the Nordquist case. Both charges were satisfied with her guilty plea.
What happened to Sam Nordquist?
Prosecutors and Sam’s family allege that he met Arzuaga on TikTok in the summer of 2024. The two started a romantic relationship, and Sam ended up flying from Minnesota to the Canandaigua area to stay with Arzuaga for what his family thought was supposed to be a two-week vacation.
After the two weeks, Sam never got on his return flight home. He decided to stay with Arzuaga in room 22 at Patty’s Lodge in Hopewell, Ontario County, where she was living with her two young children and Quijano.
Prosecutors allege that between Jan. 1 and Feb. 1, 2025, Quijano, Arzuaga, Motyka, Kyle Sage, Patrick Goodwin, Kimberly Sochia and Thomas Eaves brutally tortured Sam to death before disposing of his body in a field in Yates County.
Outside of court on Wednesday, Kayla said she doesn’t think there is any amount of justice that could make up for the horrific loss of her brother and what he went through.
“I’m glad they are taking accountability, but I don’t think that they feel guilty,” she said.
Kayla and her mom stated that they plan to be at every sentencing, trial or potential other plea hearings for the other defendants in the case. Once all the court proceedings are finalized, they said they don’t think they will ever come back to this part of New York.
Who is Jennifer “Brooklyn” Quijano
Quijano, who goes by the nickname “Brooklyn,” is known to have been in an on-again, off-again relationship with Precious Arzuaga for many years.
Records from the Erie County Family Court in Buffalo show that Quijano filed for a restraining order against Arzuaga in 2024, in which she accuses Arzuaga of strangling her on multiple occasions with her hands, a telephone cord and a chain dog collar. In the filing, Quijano also accuses Arzuaga of threatening her with a BB gun and smashing her head into a microwave.
On another occasion, Quijano accused Arzuaga of hitting her in the face with a plank of wood, taking her phone and using other means of force and threats to prevent Quijano from leaving the apartment they lived in together in Buffalo.
There is not much information available about Quijano’s childhood or adult life; however, her attorneys filed a motion with the court requesting all of her school records from the New York State Board of Education, because they claim she is intellectually disabled and believed to have been in special education classes and had an Individualized Education Plan while in school.
Quijano’s pre-trial Huntley hearings in September, where the prosecutors and her defense attorneys argued whether any of the statements she made to law enforcement about Sam Nordquist would be admissible in court, revealed details about her actions the week Sam was reported missing and ultimately found dead.
According to New York State Police Investigator Andrew Muscari, Quijano voluntarily went to the Geneva Police Department on Feb. 13, asking to speak with investigators about “the incident.” She gave a written statement that Muscari said could have implicated her.
During that conversation, Quijano told the investigators that she and Arzuaga had gotten back together in November after Arzuaga learned Sam had cheated on her. The women got engaged a couple of weeks later. Quijano claimed that Arzuaga made her “discipline” Sam for the cheating by “smacking, punching and hitting him.” It brought back memories of the times Arzuaga used to abuse her, she told police at the time.
“I would tell Sam to just listen to Precious (Arzuaga) so I didn’t have to hit him anymore,” her written deposition states.
Throughout that interview, Quijano described how she and Kyle Sage would hit Sam before finally admitting that Sam was dead, though at the time, she maintained that she was not the one responsible for his death, but finally admitted to her role in his murder in court on Wednesday.
“Listen, I think Miss Quijano was remorseful from the beginning,” Gunther said after the proceedings. “She voluntarily went to the police station early on in this case, told the police what happened, what her involvement was.
What happens next?
Quijano will await her sentencing, which is scheduled for Sept. 8, at the Ontario County Jail. At that time, Sam’s family, the prosecutors, the defense attorneys and even Quijano herself will get the chance to speak in front of Judge Karle.
The judge will then impose the maximum sentence: life in prison with no chance of parole. Quijano will later be transferred to the state prison.
Ontario County First Assistant District Attorney James Nobles explained outside the courthouse on Wednesday that when multiple defendants in one case begin to change their pleas to guilty, it could create momentum for the others to follow suit.
The four other defendants in this case are still pleading not guilty, as of now. Their trials are scheduled for 2027.
Quijano’s federal investigation. What we know
Not much is known about the details of Quijano’s or Arzuaga’s federal investigation at this time. Nobles said he could not discuss any details of the matter, but believes it may have been part of the defendants’ decisions to change their pleas.
“There also is pressure from a federal investigation that would cause people to plead guilty here, and 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,” Nobles said.
It is not clear whether there are federal investigations into the actions of the other four defendants.
Many crimes could result in federal charges. Those like bank robberies, narcotic-involved crimes, fraudulent activity that impacts interstate commerce and so on. The United States Department of Justice website explains that in cases where the crimes may violate both federal and state laws, the local U.S. Attorney’s Office will work with local and state law enforcement to see if federal charges should be brought.
Linda Nordquist, Sam’s mom, said she has mixed feelings about the possibility of Arzuaga and Quijano potentially facing the death penalty.
“I don’t necessarily agree with the death penalty, based on the fact that I want them to have done what they did to Sam- death penalty is the easy way out,” she said. “But then on the flip side of that, you can be on death row for years if not decades, so it’s hard to feel any kind of way about that.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has not yet filed any charges against Quijano or Arzuaga, so it is not clear what federal crimes, if any, they committed.
—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 help families with missing loved ones. She can be reached at MDScott@USATodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Third defendant pleads guilty in Sam Nordquist murder case in Ontario County
Reporting by Madison Scott, New York Connect Team / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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By Madison Scott, New York Connect Team | USA TODAY Network
