A Californian, Indian-origin family was abducted on Monday from their trucking company in Merced County, North California.
On Wednesday, authorities found the dead bodies of all 4 members who were abducted in a rural area.
The victims included an 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her 27yo mother Jasleen Kaur, her 36yo father Jasdeep Singh, and her 39yo uncle, Amandeep Singh.
A farm worker contacted the police after he found the bodies of the 4 victims. In a media briefing, Merced County Sheriff, Vern Warnke described the event as “horribly senseless” and said, “Tonight our worst fears have been confirmed. We found the four people from the kidnapping and they are deceased.”
The Sheriff also added, “There are no words to describe the anger I feel.”
On Wednesday, the police released a video showing the moment the family was kidnapped. The video shows Jasdeep and Amandeep coming out of the business with their hands tied together. A few seconds later, the baby and her mother can be seen coming out of the building with the kidnapper. All four members of the family were then led into a truck before departing the scene.
Authorities have taken into custody a 48yo suspect, Jesus Manuel Salgado. However, the suspect is hospitalized after he tried to kill himself before being taken into custody.
Police also shared the surveillance video from outside the trucking company that shows the kidnapping. A man wearing a mask can be seen leading away Jasdeep and Amandeep Singh and then Kaur and her daughter.
Balwinder, a relative of the family expressed his grief while talking at a news conference and said, “We are devastated. We are shocked. We are dying every moment.”