Four members of a California family abducted together earlier this week were found dead in a rural part of the state on Wednesday, officials said.
Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke Told “Our worst fears have been confirmed” when four bodies, including an 8-month-old girl, were discovered by a farm worker in a northern California county.
Jesus Manuel Salgado, a man suspected of kidnapping the family, was taken into custody on Tuesday.
No charges have been filed, although Warneke said officials would work to build a case against him.
“There are no words yet to describe the anger I feel and the senselessness of this incident,” Warneke said during a Wednesday night press conference. “I said earlier that there is a special place in hell for this man.”
The girl, Aarohi Dheri, her mother Jasleen Kaur, 27, father Jasdeep Singh, 36, and uncle, Amandeep Singh, 39, were all abducted from their business in Merced city around 1 pm on Monday.
The family was reported missing after California fire officials responded to a 2020 Dodge Ram truck that caught fire in Winton, which was registered with Amandeep Singh and then could not be reached by police or relatives was.
During a news conference early Wednesday, the sheriff’s office showed video surveillance of a man with a medical-style mask showing two men with zippies behind their backs to pick up the mother and child. taken before.
Warneke said his department received a call at around 5.30 pm local time from an agricultural laborer who found the bodies while on duty.
“They were relatively close together,” he said of how the four family members were found.
Warneke also said that the reasons for the kidnapping and murder were not known. The Justice Department will be involved in processing the tragic crime scene.
“I’m restless inside because it was completely, completely absurd,” he said. “We have lost an entire family and for what? We don’t know yet.”
Officials said Salgado, 48, was taken into custody after the victim’s family found a used ATM card at a nearby bank in Atwater. He attempted to kill himself before officers arrested him, officials said.
Warneke said the department spoke to the suspect on Wednesday night, but did not provide further details.
post with wires