The suspect in the kidnapping and murder of four members of a California family, including their baby, was arrested Thursday night.
Jesus Manuel Salgado was arrested on four counts of murder and four counts of kidnapping, Merced County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Alexandra Britton told CNN Thursday night.
Salgado, 48, is accused of kidnapping and killing 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her parents Jasleen Kaur and Jasdeep Singh, and her uncle Amandeep Singh. He was booked into the Merced County jail, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
CNN has not been able to identify an attorney for Salgado and calls to family members have gone unanswered.
After days of searching for the victims who were reported missing Monday, authorities recovered their bodies in a farm area Wednesday after a farmworker alerted them to remains in an orchard in central Merced County. Of California.
The discovery, which came a day after Salgado was detained as a suspect, it was announced by a visibly emotional sheriff who said the murders were “completely and utterly senseless”.
“There’s a special place in hell for this guy,” Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said Wednesday night, referring to the suspect.
“A whole family (was) wiped out, and we still don’t know why,” Warnke said.
Salgado was previously in prison for nearly a decade after being convicted of attempted false imprisonment, first-degree robbery and possession of a controlled substance, according to California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation records.
The family was kidnapped at gunpoint, a kidnapping recorded on surveillance video — from his trucking business Monday morning in Merced, authorities said. Investigators learned they were missing after a family vehicle was found. abandoned and on fire that morningauthorities said.
Police took the suspect into custody Tuesday after his family told police he admitted involvement in the kidnapping, Britton said.
“The circumstances around this, when we can publish everything, should make you very, very angry,” Warnke said.
The suspect attempted suicide at some point before he was taken into custody and has been receiving medical attention, Warnke said.
Warnke did not say how the family was killed. He said they were apparently killed where they were found, and were killed before the sheriff’s department was notified Monday that the family was missing.
Salgado is the main suspect in the murders, although investigators believe others may have been involved, according to Warnke, who did not elaborate on the extent of that involvement.
“I fully believe that we will find out and find out that there was more than him involved,” Warnke said.
He has been providing information to investigators and officials are working with him to identify a motive, Warnke said.
In the previous case, Salgado was sentenced to 11 years in January 2007. He was paroled in June 2015 and his parole supervision ended in June 2018, the department told CNN in an email.
KIDNAPPING OF A ‘PEACE-LOVING’ FAMILY CAUGHT ON VIDEO
Early Wednesday, authorities released surveillance footage of the kidnapping at the family’s Merced trucking business on Monday morning.
The video shows Jasdeep Singh arriving at the business parking lot at 8:30 am, followed by Amandeep Singh arriving nine minutes later.
Shortly before 9 am, Jasdeep is seen meeting a man outside the business. The man was carrying a garbage bag and pulled out what appeared to be a firearm, the video shows.
Several minutes later, Jasdeep and Amandeep are seen with their hands tied behind their backs as they get into a truck. Shortly after, the truck leaves and returns six minutes later.
Upon returning, the suspect enters the business and exits with a gun drawn as Jasleen Kaur holds 8-month-old Aroohi and walks past the suspect to the truck.
Later Monday, a farmer found two of the victims’ cellphones on a road, authorities said. At one point, the farmer answered the phone and spoke with a family member of the victims.
Before the bodies were found Wednesday night, a family member had urged people to come forward with any information about the case.
“This is a peace-loving family and they have a small business in the Merced area,” said Balvinder, a family member. “This is something no one is prepared for… we just hope and pray at all times.”
A VICTIM’S ATM CARD WAS USED
Investigators learned Tuesday morning that an ATM card belonging to one of the victims was used at a bank in Atwater, Calif., which is about 9 miles northwest of Merced, the sheriff’s office said. .
It’s not clear if the man in custody is the person who used that card, Britton said.
Suspect in custody he was convicted in 2005 in an armed robbery and false imprisonment case and was paroled in 2015, Warnke said.
In that earlier case, the man acted alone and knew the victims, according to Warnke.