California Sikh family killings: Suspect pleads not guilty; family funeral being held on Saturday
The man accused of kidnapping and then killing the eight-month-old baby and her family earlier this month on Thursday pleaded not guilty.
Jesus Salgado allegedly kidnapped eight-month-old Aroohi, her parents, and her uncle at gunpoint from their trucking business on October 3.
According to authorities, Salgado, a former employee with a longstanding dispute, likely killed them within an hour of kidnapping the family.
The 48-year-old accused entered his not-guilty plea on Thursday morning, KFSN TV reported, adding that the accused is scheduled to return to court next month and remains in jail on no bail.
Douglas Foster, Salgados court-appointed attorney, declined to comment.
The victims bodies were found two days after the kidnapping in a remote area.
A farm worker in an almond orchard in the San Joaquin Valley, Californias agricultural heartland, discovered the remains of Aroohi Dheri; her 27-year-old mother Jasleen Kaur; her 36-year-old father Jasdeep Singh; and her 39-year-old uncle Amandeep Singh.
Salgado is charged with four counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances.
The authorities allege that the slayings took place during the commission of a kidnapping and were part of multiple killings in the same case.
Salgado is also charged with arson and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The investigation into the disappearance of the family began on October 3 after police found Amandeeps truck on fire in the town of Winton.
When the family members could not locate Amandeep or his brother and sister-in-law, or the couples baby, they reported the family as missing.
The search led investigators with the Merced County Sheriffs Office to the family business, Unison Trucking, where video surveillance showed a suspect abducting the family at gunpoint and leading them away in the truck.
Salgado, who was arrested on October 6, attempted suicide last Tuesday as investigators zeroed in on him as a suspect in the case, the Sheriffs Office said in a statement. He was held in the hospital for two days and was then booked into jail.
Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke has called for Salgado to face the death penalty.
However, District Attorney Kimberly Lewis on Monday said she would defer that decision to next year.
Salgados younger brother Alberto Salgado, 41, is in custody on suspicion of criminal conspiracy, accessory, and destroying evidence.
Meanwhile, Aroohis relatives announced that the family will be laid to rest on Saturday in Turlock.
The funeral will be closed to the public but anyone who would like to support the family can gather outside the venue. (
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)