Man Charged in Kidnapping and Grisly Murder of an Entire Family

A convicted felon has been called “pure evil” for his kidnapping and brutal killing of a California family, including a mother and her baby. 

The felon, Jesus Salgado, 48, was said to have had a “nasty” and long-standing dispute with the family.

The news of the horrific crime started when a farm worker found the bodies of infant Aroohi Dheri, her mother Jasleen Kaur, 27, father Jasdeep Singh, 36, and uncle Amadeep Singh, 39, in an almond orchard earlier this month in the San Joaquin Valley. 

Salgado was a suspect from the get-go, and was arrested immediately upon his release from a hospital after a suicide attempt.

Charges against Salgado include four counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances, officials said.

“Special Circumstances allege that the murders were committed during the commission of a kidnapping and that there were multiple murders in the same case,” the statement said.

The charges filed against Salgado — which also include arson and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person — carry a possible sentence of life in prison without parole, the district attorney’s office said on Monday.

Merced County sheriff Van Warnke told reporters that Salgado had worked for the family’s business, Unison Trucking Inc., but had been feuding with them for a year, although details of the disagreement or employment isn’t clear.

Warnke said he believes the family was most likely killed within an hour of their kidnapping, which occurred on Monday, October 3, and he said the crime was one of the worst he has seen in 43 years in law enforcement.

“There’s some things you’ll take to the grave,” he said. “This, to me, was pure evil.”