A man in a white t-shirt and a baseball hat looks at the camera. He is standing somewhere outside, with trees and a creek visible behind him.

The brutal murder of 24-year-old Sam Nordquist, a transgender man who was tortured and killed in New York state in a case that officials have called “beyond depraved,” has sparked vigils across the U.S. and in Canada as the 2SLGBTQ+ community mourns. But police say they have no evidence that it is a hate crime, raising questions around when the charge is applied.