Family of immigrants ‘kidnapped and murdered’ by former employee raise over $274,000
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Relatives of the California Sikhs who were kidnapped and murdered by a former employee of their trucking company said the family had immigrated to the United States to fulfill the American Dream.
Jasleen Kaur, 27, and Jasdeep Singh, 36, were murdered on October 3, along with their eight-month-old daughter Aroohi Dheri and Jasdeep’s brother, Amandeep Singh, 39.
Their family now says they were trying to live the American dream when they were taken from their business in Merced, a city of 86,000 about 200 miles southeast of San Francisco.
They were then reportedly murdered by 48-year-old Jesus Salgado, a former employee of their trucking company, who was at the time on parole for an eerily similar crime nearly 20 years ago.
“This is the story of our shared American Dream gone wrong; our loving family was forcibly taken from us on October 3rd,” the rest of the family wrote in a statement GoFundMewho has raised more than $275,000 for the Singhs.
“As immigrants to America, they worked tirelessly for 18 years to achieve safety, security and community for themselves and their families,” wrote Jaspreet Kaur, Amandeep’s grieving wife, explaining that “Aman and Jasdeep were the main bread earners for the family.” . , supported by their elderly parents and living under one roof.’
‘We are grateful for the prayers and the tremendous support [that] shown to us by our community,” Jaspreet wrote in the online fundraiser.
“While nothing can fill this void, your prayers and donations will support the education and education of Ekam (6) and Seerat (9) and provide financial assistance to herself and her in-laws.
Jasleen Kaur, 27, and Jasdeep Singh, 36, were murdered on October 3 along with their eight-month-old daughter Aroohi Dheri
Jasdeep’s brother, Amandeep Singh, 39, was also murdered on October 3.
A GoFundMe set up by their surviving relatives has raised more than $275,000
Jasdeep and Jasleen were married in India just three years ago and were reunited two years ago when Jasleen emigrated to the United States.
“They just started making memories as a family with their baby,” Jaspreet wrote in the GoFundMe, describing Aroohi as a “happy kid” who “loved running around the house in her walker.
‘She loved being held in the arms of her grandparents, aunts and uncles; her eyes were always full of joy,” wrote Jaspreet.
She went on to describe her own husband, Amandeep, as “the rock of his family, a wonderful father who always made time to cuddle his son Ekam, read with his daughter Seerat and nurture their many art projects and other achievements.”
“In keeping with his name, Aman (meaning peace) was calm, positive, charitable and always ready to help others,” wrote Jaspreet, noting that he routinely donated to the local food bank and “found solace in his faith, never the Sunday missed. service” in their Sikh temple.
“He was a caring older brother and a role model to his cousins.”
Jasdeep and Jasleen were married in India just three years ago and were reunited two years ago when Jasleen immigrated to the United States
Jasleen is pictured here with her eight-month-old daughter Aroohi
In the GoFundMe, Jaspreet Kaur, Amandeep’s grieving wife, wrote that Jasdeep and Jasleen barely had time to reminisce with their new daughter before they were killed.
Amandeep leaves behind his wife Jaspreet, daughter Seerat (9) and son Ekam (6)
Surveillance footage showed the brothers tied their hands as 48-year-old Jesus Salgado led them into the back of Amandeep’s backup truck.
He then drove the brothers away, but soon returned for Jasleen and her baby, whom he also led into the truck, before driving off again at 9:30 am.
Singh’s truck was later found on fire 10 miles away in the town of Winton, but their bodies were not discovered until late Wednesday night by a farm worker in an almond orchard in the San Joaquin Valley.
Investigators are now preparing a case against the convicted felon suspected of the crime and are currently looking for a person of interest who they believe is his accomplice.
Sheriff Verne Warnke announced on Friday that Jesus Salgado had a feud with the Singh brothers that started a year ago and was getting “pretty nasty” according to text messages and emails.
Family members told KXTV-TV that the office of Unison Trucking Inc., the family-owned company, had only opened about a week earlier.
Sukhdeep Singh, a brother of Jasdeeep and Amandeep, confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that Salgado had worked for the company.
The exact nature of the dispute between the parties remains unclear.
Jesus Salgado, 48, was arrested Tuesday in Merced, California. He reportedly had a long-standing feud with the family he is suspected of having committed the murder
He then tried to commit suicide after the kidnapping and murder, authorities say, but was released from hospital and admitted to the county jail on Thursday night on suspicion of kidnapping and murder.
Meanwhile, Salgado’s brother – Alberto Salgado – was also arrested Friday for criminal conspiracy, complicity and destruction of evidence in the deadly crime.
Law enforcement officials previously said that Jesus became increasingly violent each time he regained consciousness.
The sheriff’s office said it was unclear whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Warnke has called on prosecutors to demand the death penalty against Jesus, calling it one of the worst crimes he had ever seen in his 43 years in law enforcement.
“Some things you take with you to the grave. This was pure evil to me.’
“Right now I have hundreds of people in a community mourning the loss of two families, and this is worldwide. These families are on different continents,” Warnke told the Associated Press.
“We have to show them that we can give them justice.”
Authorities also arrested Jesus’ brother Alberto Salgado for criminal conspiracy, complicity and destruction of evidence in the deadly crime
A security photo provided by the Merced County Sheriff’s Office shows Jesus outside the family’s truck office on Oct. 3
Jesus was previously arrested in December 2005 after he gunned down another family he worked for and robbed them of their money and jewelry after the family fired him on suspicion of stealing money.
The family had thought he was unfailingly polite, and the daughter, Katrina, told the Times, “I never felt scared around him. He was nice.’
But on December 19, 2005, that all changed.
Katrina, then 16, said she was hanging out at her house with a friend when she got a call from her father, Wade, for whom Jesus used to work.
He said to her, “Tell Mommy to open the door, because I bought a rug.”
So Katrina did as she was asked, unaware that Jesus had crept up behind her father and pointed a gun at him.
He then held the family at gunpoint and bound Wade’s hands with duct tape before taking the entire family and Katrina’s boyfriend into the garage, where the family kept a safe with cash and jewelry.
Jesus ordered Katrina’s mother, Kathy, to open the safe as he pointed the gun at the family, and Katrina lit up the room with her cell phone.
“I was so scared,” Kathy told the Times. “And I expected to hear the shot as soon as…” [the safe] was open.’
But money and jewels weren’t enough for Jesus, she said, claiming that he then asked for her wedding ring.
“Do you want my ring?” she remembers the question, to which he replied, “Yes, ma’am,” as Jesus always did with the family.
At that point, Wade recognized the thief as his former employee, even though he was wearing a mask, but told Kathy not to use his name.
Jesus reportedly led the family to the backyard pool and had them jump in when he escaped.
He was caught a few days later, after the family reported the incident to the police, and in early 2007 he was convicted of burglary with a gun, attempted false imprisonment and intimidation of witnesses.
He spent nearly 10 years in prison before being paroled in 2015.
Jesus was on active probation at the time of the kidnapping and was also convicted of possessing a banned substance.