What to know about the killing of a California family of 4, amid a second arrest
The kidnapping and slaying of a Merced County family of four, including an 8-month-old baby, gripped the community this week, leaving many in a state of shock and disbelief.
The Merced County Sheriff’s Office has said Jesus Manuel Salgado, 48, has been arrested and processed into Merced County Jail on suspicion of four counts of murder and kidnapping.
Investigators said Salgado abducted and killed 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her parents Jasleen Kaur, 27, and Jasdeep Singh, 36, and her uncle Amandeep Singh, 39.
Their bodies were discovered by a farm worker about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday on remote farmland north of Dos Palos and west of El Nido, Warnke said.
Salgado is expected to be arraigned likely on Tuesday, according to a spokesperson for the Merced County District Attorney’s Office.
His brother, Albert Salgado, was arrested Friday and accused of criminal conspiracy, accessory and destroying evidence in connection to the slayings, the sheriff’s office said.
The local Indian community in Merced and people from all walks of life have have come together in mourning the family, who were practicing Sikhs. They held a vigil Thursday and have more planned at 7 p.m. through Sunday.
Video of kidnapping
The sheriff’s office released video early Wednesday of the kidnapping of the family from their business Gateway Parking, which is just south of Merced along Highway 59.
It depicts a man who investigators say is Salgado on Monday entering an office bungalow on the property while holding a handgun. There is not video inside the building, but video shows him exiting with Jasdeep Singh and Amandeep Singh, whose hands are zip tied behind their backs.
The man then goes inside once more and exits with Kaur, who is not restrained but is holding her baby, video shows.
He left with the family inside of a black 2020 Dodge Ram, investigators say.
Victim’s ATM card was used
Just before noon on Tuesday, detectives received information that Salgado could be a person of interest in the kidnapping case.
Family members of the victims said nothing was stolen from the trucking company but that their relatives were all wearing jewelry.
Warnke said the kidnapper made no ransom demands. Investigators learned that one of the victims’ ATM cards was used at an ATM located at a bank in Atwater.
Some media agencies have reported that Salgado at one time worked for victims. When asked, however, the sheriff’s office has not confirmed that information is correct.
Salgado attempted suicide
The Merced County Sheriff’s Office officially processed Salgado into the Merced County Jail on Thursday, according to a Facebook post.
He had not been formally booked before because he made an attempt on his own life when deputies moved to arrest him Tuesday and was under medical care, Warnke has said.
Salgado told family members he was involved in the crime and they in turn said they would notify authorities. He attempted suicide before deputies arrived, according to the sheriff’s office.
Warnke has not said what method Salgado used to attempt suicide.
Salgado’s criminal history
Salgado had served time in prison for a crime not unlike what he is accused of doing this week.
He was convicted of witness intimidation and a residential robbery with gun enhancements on Nov. 7, 2006, according to Merced County prosecutors. He was released on parole on June 21, 2015.
A family told deputies Salgado dressed in a black ski mask and robbed them at gunpoint at their home in Merced County in December 2005, prosecutors said.
A man who lived at the home said he had driven into his garage when Salgado opened the driver’s side door and pointed a gun at him, according to the sheriff’s report.
He demanded the PIN to the victim’s credit card and took a large amount of money from a safe in the home, according to court records. He told the family he would return to kill them if they reported him to law enforcement.
The family survived the incident.
The death penalty
Warnke has said he wants the Merced County District Attorney’s Office to seek capital punishment in the case for the killings of the Merced family of four.
The Merced County District Attorney’s Office has said it’s too early to commit to such an effort, noting the investigation is ongoing and won’t be in the hands of prosecutors until next week. Incoming district attorney Nicole Silveira also expressed the same sentiment.
District Attorney Kimberly Lewis lost a re-election bid to Silveira, who is the supervising deputy district attorney in Merced.
Gov. Gavin Newsom put a moratorium on the death penalty in the state in 2019, so whether capital punishment could ever be carried out is likely pending an administration change in California.
No one has been executed in the state since 2006, when Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor.
The last Merced County case to end in a death sentence was for Cuitlahuac Tahua “Tao” Rivera, who gunned down Merced police officer Stephan Gray during a traffic stop on April 15, 2004.
He remains on death row at San Quentin State Prison.
