On October 3, 2022, eight-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her parents Jasdeep Singh and Jasleen Kaur, and her uncle Amandeep Singh were abducted at gunpoint from their trucking business in Merced County and later found dead in a remote almond orchard near Dos Palos. Surveillance footage shows a man forcing the family into a vehicle; a farmworker discovered the bodies on October 5, 2022, and the Merced County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the deaths.

Authorities identified former employee Jesus Manuel Salgado as the primary suspect. He had a prior 2005 conviction for home invasion in which he held his former boss’s family hostage, served eight years, and was released on parole in 2015. Salgado was arrested shortly after the bodies were found following a failed suicide attempt and has been charged with multiple counts including murder and kidnapping; his brother Alberto Salgado was later sentenced to three years and eight months for aiding in the kidnapping.

The motive remains unclear, though investigators have mentioned a possible longstanding feud between Salgado and the family. Vigils and memorials have been held in the community. If anyone has information about the family, the abduction, or the events leading up to October 3, 2022, please come forward.