A family of four, including an infant, reported missing on Monday morning in Central California’s Merced County have been found dead, according to CBS News. A local farm worker discovered the bodies at around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday night in an orchard. Authorities have not disclosed the cause of death.
According to surveillance footage released in a Wednesday morning press conference, mother Jasleen Kaur, 27; father Jasdeep Singh, 36; uncle Amandeep Singh, 39; and 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri were taken at gunpoint from a storefront.
On Tuesday, Jesus Manuel Salgado, 48, was identified as a person of interest and taken into custody after one of the victim’s credit cards was used at an ATM in Merced County. He attempted suicide before his arrest and is now in the hospital in critical condition. According to Sheriff Van Warnke, Salgado has not been able to communicate with the authorities.
No motive or connection between Salgado and the victims has been established yet. Salgado was convicted of on first-degree robbery, false imprisonment, and witness intimidation charges in 2007 and was released on parole in 2015, according to CBS News.
“There are no words right now to describe the anger I feel and the senselessness of this incident,” Warnke said, according to ABC7 News. “I said it earlier, there’s a special place in hell for this guy.”
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