- A man accused of kidnapping and killing a family in California terrorized another family 17 years ago.
- A mother and daughter told The Los Angeles Times that Jesus Manuel Salgado robbed them at gunpoint in 2005.
A man accused of kidnapping and killing a family of four in central California terrorized another family 17 years ago.
A woman named Kathy and her daughter, Katrina — who withheld their last names— told the Los Angeles Times that Jesus Manuel Salgado robbed them at gunpoint in their garage on December 19, 2005.
On Monday morning, 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri and her parents, Jasleen Kaur, 27, and Jasdeep Singh, 36, as well as the child's uncle, Amandeep Singh, 39, were kidnapped at gunpoint from their family business in Merced, California, according to the Merced County Sheriff's Office.
Their bodies were recovered from an almond orchard near the city of Dos Palos, after a farmer found them, the Sheriff's Office said.
"My heart is shattered for this family," Katrina said about the murders.
While a motive is unclear — KCRA reported investigators believe it could be money — the 48-year-old's connection to Kathy and Katrina was similar to the Dheri family: Both had family-owned trucking businesses that employed Salgado.
Kathy and Katrina told the news outlet during the night of December 19, 2005, Salgado snuck up behind Kathy's husband as he was arriving at their Central Valley home and pulled a gun on him. He then held the family at gunpoint and demanded they give him their cash and jewelry before making them jump into their backyard pool while he escaped.
Eventually, Salgado was caught and convicted of home invasion robbery with a gun, attempted false imprisonment, and witness intimidation, He served nearly 10 years in prison, LAT reported.
The Merced kidnapping
At around 11:30 am on Monday, authorities responded to a call about a Black 2020 Dodge Ram truck that had been set on fire, according to a statement. The Merced County Sheriff's department discovered the truck belonged to Amandeep Singh, who they were unable to contact.
The sheriff's department decided to visit the family's trucking business and noticed something was off, so they looked at the company's security system, according to local outlet KCRA. Through that, they were able to witness the kidnapping take place on video, as per the station. KCRA reported Salgado was a former employee at the family's business and had a previous dispute with them.
On Tuesday, authorities identified Salgado as a person of interest after one of the kidnapped family member's ATM cards was used at a bank in Atwater, California. Investigators said they obtained a surveillance photo of a person at the bank who looked similar in appearance to the surveillance photo at the kidnapping scene.
The next day, Salgado was taken into police custody after the department received information that identified him. The sheriff's department didn't specify where they found Salgado, but said he attempted to take his own life and had to receive medical treatment at a hospital. On Thursday, police named him as a suspect in the kidnapping.
"There's just no words right now to describe the anger I feel and the senselessness of this incident," Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said during a press conference Wednesday night. "I said it earlier, there's a special place in hell for this guy. And I mean it."
Authorities said Salgado's brother, Alberto Salgado, has also been arrested on suspicion of being an accessory to the crime.
A GoFundMe page was created for the family. According to the page, the family were immigrants to America who "worked tirelessly for 18 years to achieve safety, security, and community for themselves and their families."
The Merced County Sheriff's Office did not respond to Insider's request for comment.