A second suspect was arrested in the kidnapping and killing of a family of four in California, including an 8-month-old boy, authorities announced Friday.
Alberto Salgado, 41, was arrested on charges of criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence. He was arrested Thursday evening, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook.
Salgado is the brother of Jesus Salgado, who was accused of kidnapping and killing the family of four: 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her 27-year-old mother, Jasleen Kaur, and her father, 36-year-old Jasdeep Singh. and his 39-year-old uncle, Amandeep Singh.
Investigators are still trying to determine a motive, but Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said he believes it may be money-related, adding that there was no evidence to suggest the incident could have been a crime of hate
Jesus Salgado was a former employee of the family who had a long-running dispute with them that “got pretty nasty,” authorities said Thursday.
Who are the victims?
The bodies of the four victims were found Wednesday in a remote area near the town of Dos Palos, California, about 30 miles south of Merced, California.
Warnke would not share the condition of the adults’ remains and said it was unclear how the baby died. He said the child had no visible trauma and an autopsy will be performed.
“Our thoughts are with the family in their time of grief and we ask that everyone respect their privacy,” the sheriff’s office added.
The family had been reported missing on Monday and the sheriff’s office said they were “held against their will” by a gunman.
What was the business dispute?
The victims were Punjabi Sikhs, a community in central California that has a significant presence in the trucking business, many of them driving trucks, owning trucking companies or other trucking-related businesses.
Relatives of the deceased family told investigators that Jesús Salgado, 48, had sent angry text messages or emails to the family about a year ago after working with his trucking business, the county sheriff said by Merced Vern Warnke at The Associated Press.
The Merced County Sheriff’s Office could not confirm further details about the business dispute to USA TODAY on Friday.
Jesús Salgado was previously convicted of first-degree robbery with a firearm in Merced County, attempted false imprisonment and attempting to prevent or deter a victim or witness. Sentenced to 11 years in state prison in that case, he was released in 2015 and released from parole three years later, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He also has a conviction for possession of a controlled substance, the department said.
A timeline of events
Monday: The four family members are missing and the authorities began to investigate. They said the family members were kidnapped at gunpoint.
Tuesday: Jesus Salgado was identified as a person of interest after detectives were notified that one of the victim’s ATM cards was used at a bank in Atwater, California, a small town 8 miles to the west-northwest of Merced.
Salgado was taken into custody and received medical attention after attempting to take his own life, the sheriff’s office said. He was arrested on four counts of kidnapping and four counts of murder.
Wednesday: The four bodies of the missing family members were found dead, after authorities canvassed the community and searched with airplanes.
A farm worker reported one person dead Wednesday afternoon; the bodies of the family were found between the rows of an almond orchard.
Thursday: Authorities say Jesus Salgado was a former employee of the family who had a long-running dispute with them that “got pretty nasty.”
Friday: Authorities announced that Alberto Salgado, brother of Jesus Salgado, was arrested Thursday night on charges of criminal conspiracy, accessory after the fact and destruction of evidence.
Contributing: Thao Nguyen, Christine Fernando, Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY; Associated Press
