After being kidnapped in the city of Merced on Monday, four members of a California family—including an 8-month-old girl—were discovered dead in a rural region on Wednesday, according to authorities.The family went missing earlier this week and was of Indian descent.
The victims were named as the infant Aroohi Dheri, her mother Jasleen Kaur, 27, her father Jasdeep Singh, 36, and the infant’s uncle Amandeep Singh, 39, who were all stolen.
The four were allegedly kidnapped from the family’s trucking business in Merced, which is located about 150 miles (240 km) east of San Jose.”Tonight, our worst suspicions came true. Vernon Warnke, the sheriff for Merced County, told the reporters at a briefing that they had located the four victims of the kidnapping and that they were in fact dead.
Warnke called the incident “horribly needless,” adding that the motive for the murder was yet unknown. He also added that a farm worker had alerted authorities.Jesus Manuel Salgado, 48, was a suspect in the family’s deaths, according to Merced County authorities, and he was in arrest.
Warnke had stated during a news conference on Wednesday morning that they were attempting to speak with Salgado, who was hospitalised after attempting suicide before being taken into prison, to ascertain whether another individual was involved.
Jasdeep and Amandeep Singh were led away by a man whose face was hidden by a medical-style mask in a security video from outside the trucking company, followed by Kaur and her daughter.The black 2020 Dodge Ram pickup truck owned by Amandeep Singh was discovered burning on the side of a county road, alerting police to the crime.
Sheriff’s deputies discovered the family was missing while doing their investigation and came to the conclusion that they had been kidnapped, which led them to the trucking company.
