Suspect Jailed On Murder, Kidnapping Charges After California Family Found Dead

The man suspected of kidnapping and killing four members of a California family has been booked into Merced County Jail, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Thursday night.

Jesus Manuel Salgado faces charges of four counts of murder and four counts of kidnapping, according to the statement.

Earlier on Thursday, the sheriff’s office said Salgado was receiving medical treatment and was still being interviewed by investigators. He was arrested on Tuesday afternoon after authorities linked him to the kidnapping. He reportedly attempted suicide just before he was located and was hospitalized.

Authorities are investigating whether he worked with an accomplice.

On Wednesday night, Sheriff Vern Warnke announced that a farmworker had found the bodies of 8-month-old Arrohi Dheri; her mother, Jasleen Kaur, 27; father Jasdeep Singh, 36; and uncle Amandeep Singh, 39; in a Merced County almond orchard.

The family was last seen on surveillance footage being forced from a Merced trucking business at gunpoint on Monday morning.

A spokesperson for the family told ABC30 that Salgado was a former employee of the company who had parted ways with the business on bad terms.

Salgado was reportedly seen walking up to and entering the business around 9 a.m. and then putting the family into a pickup truck belonging to Amandeep Singh.

Salgado was released on parole in 2015 after he was convicted in 2005 of theft and false imprisonment.

The sheriff’s office said Thursday it had been processing the crime scene with the California Department of Justice and was not releasing any details about the motive or cause of death during the investigation.

“Our thoughts are with the family in their time of grief and we ask that everyone respect their privacy,” it said.

The sheriff’s office also sent out a fraud alert noting that the family had not established any online fundraisers and were not requesting donations.

“If that changes, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office will be the one to announce that,” the sheriff’s office said. “They greatly appreciate everyone’s willingness to help the family, but at this time they ask for privacy so they can grieve and process what has taken place.”