Family members of the California Sikhs said that the family had emigrated to the US to pursue the American Dream before being abducted and killed by a former worker of their trucking company.
On October 3, Jasleen Kaur, 27, and Jasdeep Singh, 36, as well as their eight-month-old daughter Aroohi Dheri and Jasdeep’s brother Amandeep Singh, 39, were all slain.
Their family now claims that when they were seized from their company in Merced, an 86,000-person city located around 125 miles southeast of San Francisco, they were attempting to live out the American Dream.
The boys were led into the back of Amandeep’s backup vehicle by 48-year-old Jesus Salgado, as shown on surveillance film, with their hands zip-tied.
After taking the boys away, he quickly returned to pick up Jasleen and her child, loading them both into the truck before leaving again around 9.30am.
Their remains weren’t located until late Wednesday night by a farm worker in an almond grove in the San Joaquin Valley, despite the fact that Singh’s vehicle was subsequently discovered on fire 10 miles away in the town of Winton.
It happened close to 20 years after Salgado initially broke into a family’s house, held them at gunpoint, and demanded cash and jewelry while threatening to kill them. At the time of the abduction and killings, he was on parole.
The surviving family members described their situation as “our shared American Dream gone bad; our beloved family was cruelly torn away from us on October 3” in a GoFundMe that has helped the Singhs collect over $275,000 in total.
Jaspreet Kaur, Amandeep’s grieving wife, explained that “Aman and Jasdeep were the primary bread earners for the family, supported by their elderly parents and lived under one roof” in a letter to her husband.
“As immigrants to America, they worked tirelessly for 18 years to achieve safety, security and community for themselves and their families,” she wrote.
In the online campaign, Jaspreet said, “We are appreciative for the prayers and wonderful support [that] was offered to us by our community.”
While nothing will completely heal this gap, your prayers and gifts will help with Ekam’s (6 years old) and Seerat’s (9 years old) upbringing and schooling as well as provide her and her in-laws financial comfort.
Jaspreet wrote on the GoFundMe that the couple “were just just started to build memories together as a family with their baby” and described Aroohi as a “joyous youngster” who “liked to run around the house in her walker.”
She loved being carried by her grandparents, aunts, and uncles; her eyes were constantly beaming with happiness, Jaspreet penned.
She continued by calling her own husband, Amandeep, the “rock of his family,” a wonderful father who always found time to cradle his son Ekam, read to his daughter Seerat, and cherish their many artistic endeavors and other successes.
Aman, which means peace, was “calm, positive, charitable, and always ready to help others,” Jaspreet wrote, noting that he frequently gave to the neighborhood food bank and “found comfort in his faith, never missing Sunday service” in their Sikh temple. He also regularly attended the local food bank.
He served as an example for his cousins and was a devoted older brother.
The suspect is a convicted criminal, and the police are presently building a case against him. They are also looking for a person of interest they believe to be his collaborator.
According to texts and emails, Jesus Salgado and the Singh brothers had a year-long disagreement that had become “quite vicious,” according to sheriff Verne Warnke.
According to family relatives, the family’s company, Unison Trucking Inc., had just recently established its office.
The Los Angeles Times received confirmation from Sukhdeep Singh, Jasdeep and Amandeep’s brother, that Salgado had worked for the organization.
Uncertainty surrounds the specifics of the parties’ disagreement.
After the murder and kidnappings, he allegedly made an attempt on his own life. However, he was later discharged from the hospital and arrested Thursday night on suspicion of murder and abduction.
Alberto Salgado, Salgado’s brother, was also detained on Friday on charges of criminal conspiracy, accessory, and destruction of evidence in the fatal murder.
Previously, law enforcement officials said that whenever Jesus recovered consciousness, he became more aggressive.
It was unclear, according to the sheriff’s office, whether he had a lawyer who could speak for him.
In his 43 years of law enforcement, Warnke has urged for the prosecution to pursue the death sentence against Jesus, calling it one of the greatest crimes he has ever seen.
There are certain things you’ll keep with you throughout eternity. To me, this was just nasty.
Hundreds of people in a community are now mourning the deaths of two families, and this is happening all around the globe. Warnke told the Associated Press that these families were spread out across many countries.
We must demonstrate to them that we can treat them fairly.
Jesus was previously detained in December 2005 after robbing a different family he had worked for of their money and valuables while being held at gunpoint. The family had sacked Jesus on the grounds that he had stolen money.
The daughter, Katrina, told the Times: “I never felt terrified around him.” The family believed he was always kind. He was friendly.
On December 19, 2005, however, everything changed.
At the age of 16, Katrina said that she was at home with a friend when her father, Wade, for whom Jesus had previously worked, called.
Tell mum to open the door because I purchased a rug, he instructed her.
Katrina complied with the request because she was told to, not realizing that Jesus had sneaked up on her father and drawn a revolver on him.
He then gathered the family and Katrina’s friend to the garage, where the family kept a safe filled with cash and jewels, while holding the family at gunpoint and taping Wade’s hands.
Jesus aimed the pistol at the family and told Katrina’s mother, Kathy, to unlock the safe while Katrina light up the room with her iPhone.
I was so terrified, Kathy said to the Times. And when [the safe] was opened, I anticipated hearing the gunfire, so I said.
She said that Jesus demanded her wedding ring after realizing that money and jewelry weren’t enough for him.
She recalls him saying, “You want my ring?,” to which he responded, “Yes, ma’am,” as Jesus usually did to the family.
Wade urged Kathy not to mention the burglar by name at that moment even if he was disguised as one of his former employees.
Then, according to reports, Jesus brought the family to the backyard pool and forced them to jump in before fleeing.
After the family reported the event to the police a few days later, he was apprehended and found guilty of home invasion robbery with a firearm, attempted false detention, and witness intimidation in early 2007.
Before being granted release in 2015, he spent almost ten years behind bars.
At the time of the abduction, Jesus was still on probation and had also received a conviction for drug possession.