Story Update: 4 Kidnapped CA Family Members Found Dead In Remote Area

Four California family members kidnapped together earlier this week were found dead in a rural part of the state on Wednesday.

Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said, “Our worst fears have been confirmed, after finding the four bodies, one of which was an 8-month old little girl. They were discovered by a farm worker in the Northern California county.”

The man suspected of kidnapping the family, Jesus Manuel Salgado, was taken into custody on Tuesday. Charges have yet to be filed, although a case is currently being built up.

“There’s no words right now to describe the anger I feel and the senselessness of this incident,” Warnke said during a Wednesday night press conference. “I said it earlier: There’s a special place in hell for this guy.”

he baby girl, Aroohi Dheri, her mother, Jasleen Kaur, 27, father, Jasdeep Singh, 36, and uncle, Amandeep Singh, 39, were all abducted around 1 p.m. Monday from their business in the city of Merced.

The family was reported missing after California fire officials responded to a 2020 Dodge Ram truck on fire in Winton that was registered to Amandeep Singh, who couldn’t be reached by police or relatives.

During a news conference this past Wednesday, the sheriff’s office showed video surveillance of a man with a medical-style mask leading the two men away with their hands zip-tied behind their backs before returning to get the mother and baby.

Warnke said his department received a call around 5:30 p.m. local time from a farm worker who found the bodies during his job duties.

The bodies of the four family members were discovered by a farm worker late Wednesday in an almond orchard in a remote area near the town of Dos Palos.

“They were relatively close together,” he said of how the four family members were found.

Authorities have not released a cause of death for any of the victims and Warnke has not stated the condition of the adult’s remains. However, he noted that the baby’s body had no visible trauma and an autopsy will be conducted to figure out how the child died.

Warnke said, “The motive behind these senseless killings is unknown. The Department of Justice will be involved processing the tragic crime scene. I’m just livid inside because this was completely, totally senseless. We have a whole family wiped out and for what? We don’t know yet.”

Salgado, 48, was taken into custody after an ATM card in Atwater belonging to the victimized family was used at a nearby bank. He attempted to kill himself before authorities arrested him.

Warnke said Wednesday night the department has spoken to the suspect, but did not provide further information.

However, it was finally revealed that Salgado confessed to have a year long feud with the slain family.

Jesus Manuel Salgado, 48, was charged with four counts of murder and four counts of kidnapping and was booked into Merced County Jail Thursday. Salgado was transferred to the jail from a hospital, where he was recovering after he attempted to kill himself.

Salgado was a former employee of the family’s trucking business, Unison Trucking Inc. and seemed to have had a lot of hatred towards the family.

“The dispute got pretty nasty in text messages or emails,” Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said. “This brutal killing spree was one of the worst crimes I’ve investigated in my 43 years in law enforcement.”

Investigators are still seeking a person of interest in the horrific slayings who is believed to have acted as Salgado’s accomplice.

Warnke said the family was likely killed within an hour of being kidnapped Monday morning when they were taken at gunpoint from their trucking business trailer.