A suspect has been charged and authorities are searching for a possible accomplice in the kidnapping and killings of a baby, her parents and an uncle.
— The suspect in the kidnapping and killings of an 8-month-old baby, her parents and an uncle had worked for the family's trucking business and had a longstanding feud with them that culminated in an act of"pure evil," a sheriff said Thursday.
The suspect, 48-year-old Jesus Salgado, was released from the hospital and booked into the county jail Thursday night on four counts each of kidnapping and murder, the Sheriff's Office said. It wasn't clear if he had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf. Earlier, Warnke called for prosecutors to seek the death penalty. The sheriff called it one of the worst crimes he has seen over his 43 years in law enforcement and pleaded for Salgado's accomplice to turn himself in.
Undated photos of Aroohi Dheri, her mother, Jasleen Kaur, her father, Jasdeep Singh, and her uncle Amandeep Singh, who authorities say were kidnapped and killed on Oct. 3, 2022. The victims' bodies were found near the town of Dos Palos, about 30 miles south of Merced. Relatives of Salgado contacted authorities and told them he'd admitted to them his involvement in the kidnapping, Warnke told KFSN-TV on Tuesday. Salgado tried to take his own life before police arrived at a home in Atwater - where an ATM card belonging to one of the victims was used after the kidnapping - about 9 miles north of Merced.