The mother of a Minnesota transgender man who was tortured and killed in upstate New York suggested that his death was preventable if local authorities had "done their jobs."

Five people have been arrested in New York and charged in connection with the disappearance and murder of a 24-year-old transgender man from Minnesota, who police say was tortured and abused for weeks before his death.

Law enforcement officials in upstate New York say that the torture and killing of Sam Nordquist, 24, did not appear to be a hate crime.

Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old transgender man, was subjected to weeks of torture before his death, police say. Five people have been arrested.

The killing of a transgender man in upstate New York is not believed to be a hate crime, according to prosecutors, who said some of the alleged assailants were part of the LGBTQ community.

The remains of Sam Nordquist, 24, a transgender man, were found after he had been reported missing. The district attorney in Ontario County, N.Y., called the circumstances surrounding the death “beyond depraved.

Sam Nordquist craved romance. So, last September, he traveled to New York from his home in Oakdale, Minnesota, to meet his online girlfriend. A few months later, he was dead. On Feb. 13, human remains believed to be those of the 24-year-old Black transgender man (some outlets say that Nordquist identified as biracial) were found

Police in upstate New York investigating the alleged torture and murder of trans man Sam Nordquist have said there is currently “no indication” his killing was a hate crime. The Ontario county district attorney’s office and New York state police have issued a joint press release urging the LGBTQ+ and wider community “not to speculate into the motive behind the murder as we work to find justice”,