“Tonight, our worst fears have been confirmed.”
Here’s How Merced County Sheriff Vernon H. Warnke Started the Tough Notify the public to all four members A family was found dead Monday after being kidnapped at gunpoint in Merced County.
Warnke said the family – Jasleen Kaur, 27, Jasdeep Singh, 36, Amandeep Singh, 39 and Aroohi Dheri, 8 months – had died.
The Associated Press reported they were found in an orchard, and KTLA sister station KSEE reported that the bodies were found near the area representing the victim’s mobile phone.
The Merced County Sheriff’s Office said it received a call from a farmer about 5 p.m. telling them where they were after finding the victim, adding that the orchard was “very, very remote.”
“There are no words right now to describe my anger and the senselessness of this. I said before that this guy has a special place in hell and I mean it,” Warnke said.
Officials have identified 48-year-old Jesus Manuel Salgado as the likely perpetrator.
Convicted robber Salgado attempted suicide the day after the kidnapping, officials said.
Since then, Warnke said, he has been treated with sedatives at a local hospital, preventing detectives from talking to him.
“I can tell you that every time he even got close to consciousness, he was violent,” Vaughnke said.