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The Merced County Sheriff's Office in California announced on Friday that a second suspect related to the kidnapping and death of a family has been arrested.
"Yesterday evening, the Merced County Sheriff's Office, with the assistance of the California Department of Justice, arrested and booked Alberto Salgado into the Merced County Jail," the sheriff's office said in a Facebook post.
According to law enforcement, Salgado is the brother of 48-year-old Jesus Manuel Salgado, the initial suspect who was taken into custody in connection with the crimes.
Newsweek has put together a timeline with public information on the recent incident.
October 3:
According to the Merced County Sheriff's Office, on October 3, Cal Fire officials were dispatched to an area following a report that a vehicle was on fire.
"At approximately 12:35 pm, California Highway Patrol requested the assistance of Merced Police Department in an attempt to contact the registered owner of the vehicle, Amandeep Singh," the sheriff's office said.
Sheriff's office deputies arrived at Singh's residence shortly afterward, but they were unable to reach him. However, they spoke with one of his relatives, who attempted to contact Singh. When family members were also unable to reach Singh, they followed up with the sheriff's office and reported that Singh and three other family members were missing.
"Currently Detectives are looking for 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri. Detectives believe that Aroohi and her mother Jasleen Kaur (27) & father Jasdeep Singh (36) were taken against their will from a business in the 800 Block of South Highway 59. The Baby's Uncle Amandeep Singh (39) was also taken against his will with the other family members," the sheriff's office said in a Facebook post.
October 4:
A day after determining that the family was kidnapped, the Merced County Sheriff's Office reported that one of the victim's ATM cards was used "at a bank in the City of Atwater." The sheriff's office then identified a person of interest in the kidnapping as 48-year-old Jesus Manuel Salgado.
Later on Tuesday, Salgado was taken into custody by deputies.
"Prior to law enforcement involvement, Salgado attempted to take his own life. Salgado is in our custody, currently receiving medical attention and in critical condition," the sheriff's office said.
October 5:
On Wednesday, the sheriff's office said that it found the bodies of the family members who were kidnapped. The bodies were found near "Indiana Road and Hutchins Road in the Dos Palos Area."
"Upon arrival deputies located the bodies of Aroohi Dheri, Jasleen Kaur, Jasdeep Singh, and Amandeep Singh among the rows of an almond orchard. All four victims were kidnapped by Jesus Salgado from their business in the 800 Block of South Highway 59 on October 3rd," the sheriff's office said.
October 6:
On Thursday, October 6, the Merced County Sheriff's office announced that Jesus Salgado was charged with four counts of kidnapping and four counts of murder.
Additionally, the sheriff's office also apprehended the second suspect in the case, who was identified as Salgado's brother.
"Alberto Salgado was arrested for criminal conspiracy, accessory, and destroying evidence," the sheriff's office said.
While speaking with the Associated Press on Thursday, Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke called the incident "pure evil."
Warnke also confirmed that Jesus Salgado previously worked for the Singh family's trucking company and said that a feud erupted over the end of his employment.
Newsweek reached out to the Merced County Sheriff's Office for further comment.
About the writer
Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more