In Merced, California, on October 5, 2022, Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke addresses a press conference regarding the abduction of 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her mother Jasleen Kaur, her father Jasdeep Singh, and her uncle Amandeep Singh. Associated Press hide caption

switch to caption Andrew Kuhn/AP

In Merced, California, on October 5, 2022, Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke addresses a press conference regarding the abduction of 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her mother Jasleen Kaur, her father Jasdeep Singh, and her uncle Amandeep Singh.

AAP Andrew Kuhn THE SAN FRANCISCO Two days after being taken at gunpoint from their place of business, a baby girl, her parents, and her uncle were discovered dead in an orchard in central California, according to the authorities.

Vern Warnke, the sheriff of Merced County, declared at a news conference on Wednesday night that “our greatest concerns have been confirmed.”

Regarding the manner and time of the victims’ deaths, Warnke withheld any details. When a field worker in a rural place discovered the victims, he claimed they were near to one another.

The somber statement followed the revelation earlier on Wednesday of surveillance footage showing a man abducting 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her mother Jasleen Kaur, her father Jasdeep Singh, and uncle Amandeep Singh, 39, on Monday.

Authorities said that a convicted robber who attempted suicide one day after the kidnappings was responsible for their disappearance. Jesus Salgado, 48, was in severe condition when he was taken into prison, but Warnke reported that he has been speaking with authorities.

According to him, no reason for the kidnapping has been determined.

There are now no words that can adequately express my rage and the absurdity of this occurrence, according to Warnke. I’ve said it before: This guy has a particular spot in hell.

According to Warnke, investigators, including technicians from the California Department of Justice’s crime lab, would process the crime scene all night.

The four family members were abducted from their place of business in Merced, a community of 86,000 people located in the San Joaquin Valley, the state’s agricultural heartland, some 125 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco.

According to Warnke, Salgado’s relatives contacted the police and said he had told them he was responsible for the kidnapping. Salgado attempted suicide before police arrived at a neighboring Atwater home, and he has subsequently been admitted to the hospital.

On Wednesday, attempts to contact Salgado’s relatives were futile.

In the earlier Wednesday footage that was made public, the suspect initially passes by the property before approaching one of the males. It then depicts him guiding the men, whose wrists were tied with zip ties behind their backs, into the pickup truck’s back seat. The suspect then drove away after leading Jasdeep Singh, who was holding her infant in her arms, out of the trailer that served as the business office and into the vehicle.

Nothing was taken from the trucking company, according to the family, although all of their relatives were wearing jewelry. An ATM card belonging to one of the victims was used after the kidnappings in Atwater, which is located approximately 9 miles (14 kilometers) north of Merced, according to Warnke.

Warnke claimed that the abductor did not seek a ransom.
The sheriff claimed that investigators were looking for a reason for the killings.
“Why have we destroyed our entire family? We don’t yet know, “said said.
The sheriff claimed that the victims’ family members had been informed of their deaths.

It’s not the closure we were hoping for and it’s not the closure they were expecting for, Warnke continued, but at least they can now have some sort of closure.

Family members had already requested that anyone in the neighborhood who runs a convenience shop or petrol station check their security cameras for footage of the suspect or the missing. Because the family didn’t have any baby food with them at the time of the kidnapping, they claimed they were concerned the infant wasn’t being fed.

Brother of the victims Sukhdeep Singh pleaded for people to come out and assist them, saying, “Please help us out, come forward, so my family comes home safe.”

Salgado had previously been found guilty in Merced County of attempted false imprisonment, first-degree robbery with the use of a pistol, and an attempt to deter or discourage a victim or witness. According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, he was given a term of 11 years in state prison in that case.

At a news conference in Merced, California, on October 5, 2022, Sukhdeep Singh, on the right, and Balwinder Saini, in the middle, discuss the abduction of their family members, including 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her mother Jasleen Kaur, her father Jasdeep Singh, and her uncle Amandeep Singh. Associated Press hide caption

switch to caption Andrew Kuhn/AP

At a news conference in Merced, California, on October 5, 2022, Sukhdeep Singh, on the right, and Balwinder Saini, in the middle, discuss the abduction of their family members, including 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her mother Jasleen Kaur, her father Jasdeep Singh, and her uncle Amandeep Singh.

AAP Andrew Kuhn In 2015, he was let out of prison, and three years later, he was released from parole. He was also found guilty of possessing a controlled substance, according to the prisons department.

There is no connection between Salgado and the family that would indicate that they were acquainted prior to the kidnapping.
Right now, according to deputy Alexandra Britton, “we think it was random.” “We don’t have any proof to the contrary,”

KXTV-TV had been informed by family members that the office for the family’s company, Unison Trucking Inc., had only recently opened.

“My hubby is a very tranquil and composed individual. We have no idea why they abducted them “explained Jaspreet Caur, the abducted uncle’s wife.
Detectives, according to the sheriff, think the kidnapper destroyed unnamed evidence in an effort to hide his tracks.

According to the sheriff’s office, Amandeep Singh’s truck caught fire on Monday. Officers from the Merced Police Department proceeded to Amandeep Singh’s house, where a relative was attempting to contact him and the couple. They called the Merced County Sheriff’s office to report their family members missing when they were unable to reach them, according to the office.

According to Merced County Undersheriff Corey Gibson, a farmer in Dos Palos, a town located 48 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of Merced, discovered a victim’s phone on a street and answered it when the family called.