Written by Kate Hirsch
Jesus Manuel Salgado, 48, was officially arrested Thursday on four counts of murder, and four counts of kidnapping, according to CNN.
The four bodies of the kidnapped family were discovered in a remote almond orchard in Merced County by a farmworker, who contacted authorities. The victims were 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her mother Jasleen Kaur, 27, her father Jasdeep Singh, 36, and her uncle Amandeep Singh, 39. Sheriff Vern Warnke of Merced County believes the family was killed within an hour of their kidnapping Monday morning, when they were first escorted away by Salgado at gunpoint.
Warnke called for prosecutors to consider the death penalty, saying that the kidnapping and killing was “pure evil” and one of the worst crimes he has seen in 43 years in law enforcement, reports CBS.
Salgado’s family owned Unison Trucking Inc., a company which had opened an office in the last few weeks in a parking lot where the Singh brothers also worked. There was a feud between the Singh family and Salgado dating back to about a year, shown in records of text messages and emails, though the exact details of the disagreement are not yet available.
On Tuesday, an ATM card belonging to one of the victims was used at a bank in Atwater, California, where Salgado’s family owns a residence. It is not yet clear if Salgado was the one to use that card, and police are still working to determine if there was another suspect involved, says CNN.
Jesus Manuel Salgado, 48, was officially arrested Thursday on four counts of murder, and four counts of kidnapping, according to CNN.
Salgado had been detained two days before on Tuesday, just a day before the four bodies of the kidnapped family were discovered in a remote almond orchard in Merced County by a farmworker, who contacted authorities. The victims were 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her mother Jasleen Kaur, 27, her father Jasdeep Singh, 36, and her uncle Amandeep Singh, 39. Sheriff Vern Warnke of Merced County believes the family was killed within an hour of their kidnapping Monday morning, when they were first escorted away by Salgado at gunpoint.
Warnke called for prosecutors to consider the death penalty, saying that the kidnapping and killing was “pure evil” and one of the worst crimes he has seen in 43 years in law enforcement, reports CBS.
Salgado’s family owned Unison Trucking Inc., a company which had opened an office in the last few weeks in a parking lot where the Singh brothers also worked. There was a feud between the Singh family and Salgado dating back to about a year, shown in records of text messages and emails, though the exact details of the disagreement are not yet available.
On Tuesday, an ATM card belonging to one of the victims was used at a bank in Atwater, California, where Salgado’s family owns a residence. It is not yet clear if Salgado was the one to use that card, and police are still working to determine if there was another suspect involved, says CNN.
The victims were Punjabi Sikhs, an ethno-religious group that has strong representation in central California. Relatives and other members of the Punjabi Sikh population in Merced were shocked by the senseless killings.
“Right now, I’ve got hundreds of people in a community that are grieving the loss of two families, and this is worldwide. These families are across different continents,” Sheriff Warnke told The Associated Press in a report by CBS. “We’ve got to show them that we can give them justice.”
The city of Merced plans to hold vigils in memory of the family through Sunday.
