California: An initial probe has revealed that the man arrested for kidnapping and killings four members of an Indian-origin Sikh family in the United States was an employee of their trucking business. A relative of the family even informed that the accused had a long standing feud with the family which later got "pretty nasty" and ended up with murder.
Identified as Jesus Manuel Salgado, the accused was arrested days after the incident came to light and was booked on four counts of murder and four counts of kidnapping in the case, Merced County sheriff's spokesperson Alexandra Britton said.
"The primary suspect in the kidnapping and murder, Salgado, is a former employee who used to drive for the victim's trucking company. They had a disagreement and parted ways," a relative of the deceased family was quoted as saying by the NBC Bay Area television station.
Police also said that the 48-year-old accused tried killing himself before being taken into custody. Police also said that it will continue to follow up on any leads of additional people who may have been involved in this horrific incident.
Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said the brutal killing spree was one of the worst crimes he has investigated in his 43 years in law enforcement. Police said that the primary investigation shows the family was likely killed within an hour of being kidnapped when they were taken at gunpoint from their trucking business trailer.
The family hailed from Punjab's Hoshiarpur. Jasdeep Singh (36), Jasleen Kaur (27) and their eight-year-old daughter and Jasdeep's brother Amandeep Singh (39) were killed and their bodies were found in a rural location in California city. The family was kidnapped at gunpoint earlier.
