A 24-year-old transgender man from Minnesota who had been missing since December was subjected to violence and torture before his body was found last week in a field in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, the authorities said.

Five people were arrested in connection with his death and charged with murder, the New York State Police said on Friday. At least one of them was said to have been staying with the victim at a motel.

The victim, identified as Sam Nordquist, had been subjected to “repeated acts of violence and torture” between December of last year and this month, according to Capt. Kelly Swift of the State Police’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

“In my 20-year law enforcement career, this is one of the most horrific crimes I have ever investigated,” Captain Swift said at a news conference on Friday.

“The facts and the circumstances of this crime are beyond depraved,” added James Ritts, the district attorney of Ontario County, N.Y.

The five people arrested have been charged with second-degree murder. They were identified as Precious Arzuaga, 38; Jennifer A. Quijano, 30; Kyle Sage, 33; Patrick A. Goodwin, 30; and Emily Motyka, 19. The police said that Precious Arzuaga had been staying at the motel with Mr. Nordquist and others who have not been identified.