Four family members, including an eight-month-old baby, were taken hostage from a California business and their bodies have since been discovered.
When the bodies were found after the kidnapping was caught on camera on Monday, Merced County Sheriff Vernon Warnke claimed that the agency’s “worst fears” were realised.
The bodies of Jasleen Kaur, 27, and Jasdeep Singh, 36, as well as Jasdeep’s brother Amandeep Singh, 39, and their eight-month-old child Aroohi Dheri were discovered in an orchard field, according to the sheriff.
The bodies were discovered by a farmworker in a “very” rural and isolated region of Merced County.
“Tonight our worst fears have been confirmed,” said Warnke.
“We found the four people from the kidnapping and they are in fact deceased.”
Warnke described the crime as “senseless,” saying that “there’s no words right now to describe the anger I feel.”
The shocking discovery followed the revelation of security footage earlier on Wednesday that showed the family being forced at gunpoint out of their place of business.
According to family relatives, the office for the family’s company Unison Trucking Inc. had just been operating for a week.
“I said it earlier, there’s a special place in hell for this guy and I mean it,” the sheriff said.
The terrifying footage depicts the guy approaching the building just before nine in the morning after ascending the property’s walkway holding a white trash bag.
There are no cameras inside the company.
A surgical mask covered the face of the gun-wielding kidnapper as he led the victims into a waiting automobile as they were being led away from the establishment off South Highway 59.
As they were pushed into a car, the Singh brothers looked to have their hands tied behind their backs. Kaur can be seen holding her infant.
The guy with the gun follows the two brothers as they walk backwards with their arms tied behind their backs.
They are led by an escort to the neighbouring parked car.
After leaving the store, the suspect returns with Kaur, who is clutching Aroohi Dheri, and enters the building.
Jesus Manuel Salgado Suspect Arrested
Since then, police have detained suspect Jesus Manuel Salgado.
According to police, the 48-year-old made an attempt on his own life “prior to law enforcement involvement.”
The Merced County Sheriff’s Office stated in a Facebook post that he is now receiving medical care and is in a critical condition.
When the sheriff’s office learned on Tuesday that “one of the victim’s ATM cards was used at an ATM situated at a bank in the City of Atwater,” detectives detained Salgado.
The family’s relatives were informed when their bodies were discovered, the sheriff said on Wednesday night.
“We’re hoping that they can now at least have some kind of closure,” Warnke said.
“It’s not the closure we were hoping for; it’s not the closure they were hoping for.”
