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.

Police said the victim suffered "prolonged physical and psychological abuse at the hands of multiple individuals" before his death.

Police in New York say the torture death of a transgender man whose body was found in a field last week was not a hate crime.