Highlights
- The bodies of 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri; her mother Jasleen Kaur, father Jasdeep Singh, and uncle Amandeep Singh were found in an orchard by a farmworker on Wednesday.
- The lone gunman who kidnapped them from their office did not take any valuables from there, including cash.
- Salgado was previously convicted of first-degree robbery with the use of a firearm in Merced County, as well as attempted false imprisonment and an attempt to prevent or dissuade a victim or witness
The dreaded news relatives of an Indian-origin Sikh family who were kidnapped had hoped they would never hear has happened.
Police in the Merced County of the US state of California have confirmed that they have found the bodies of the four missing persons.
Bodies found in an orchard
The bodies of 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri; her mother Jasleen Kaur, father Jasdeep Singh, and uncle Amandeep Singh were found in an orchard by a farmworker on Wednesday.
The family which has a trucking company was kidnapped at gunpoint from an office that they had only opened about a week earlier.
A vehicle owned by one of the family members was found on fire late Monday, which led law enforcement in the US to determine that the four had been kidnapped.
The suspect has a special place in hell
“Our worst fears have been confirmed,” Sheriff Vern Warnke told reporters Wednesday night.
“There are no words right now to describe the anger I feel and the senselessness of this incident,” Warnke said. “I said it earlier: There’s a special place in hell for this guy.”
The motive of the kidnapper unclear
It is still unclear how and why the four-member family was kidnapped and murdered.
The lone gunman who kidnapped them from their office did not take any valuables from there, including cash.
He also did not make any ransom demands for their release.
Police zeroed in on the suspect, identified as Jesus Salgado after he used the ATM card of one of the missing persons.
According to the police, a surveillance photo from the ATM in Atwater, a city about 14 kilometers north of Merced showed a person similar in appearance to the surveillance photo from the original kidnapping scene.
Relatives of Salgado also contacted authorities reporting that he had admitted to them he was involved with the kidnapping.
But before the cops could reach him, the 48-year-old tried to end his own life.
Though he has been taken into custody, Salgado is under medical sedation and is said to be in a critical condition.
The suspect is a history-sheeter
Salgado was previously convicted of first-degree robbery with the use of a firearm in Merced County, as well as attempted false imprisonment and an attempt to prevent or dissuade a victim or witness. He was sentenced to 11 years in state prison in that case, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
He was released from prison in 2015 and discharged from parole three years later. He also has a conviction for possession of a controlled substance, the corrections agency said.
Investigators have not found a link between Salgado and the family to show they knew each other before the kidnapping.
“As of right now, we believe it was random,” Deputy Alexandra Britton said. “We don’t have evidence to prove otherwise.”
