US: Main suspect in killing of Indian-origin family pleads not guilty

The main suspect in the kidnapping and killing of four members of an Indian-origin Sikh family, including a baby girl, in California on Thursday pleaded not guilty in a court.

Jesus Salgado, who was arrested on October 6, faces four counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances, which allege that the slayings took place during the commission of a kidnapping and were part of multiple killings in the same case. He 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 Sikh family of four, 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her 27-year-old mother Jasleen Kaur, her 36-year-old father Jasdeep Singh, and her 39-year-old uncle Amandeep Singh were kidnapped at gunpoint and killed allegedly by Salgado, a former employee of their trucking company.

The victims' bodies were found two days after their kidnapping when a farm worker in an almond orchard in a remote area of the San Joaquin Valley, California's agricultural heartland, discovered the remains of the family.

Salgado pleaded not guilty to all his charges, KFSN reported. Salgado will be back in court on December 15.

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The investigation into the disappearance of the family began on October 3 after police found Amandeep's 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 couple’s baby, they reported the family as missing.

The search led investigators with the Merced County Sheriff’s 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 attempted suicide last Tuesday as investigators zeroed in on him as a suspect in the case, the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. He was held in the hospital for two days and was then booked into jail.

Salgado's brother, Alberto Salgado, was also arrested in the case on suspicion of criminal conspiracy, accessory and destroying evidence.

Salgado spent nearly a decade in prison for holding another family at gunpoint and robbing it in its garage in 2005.

Meanwhile, the grieving relatives of the Sikh family announced that the baby, her parents and her uncle will be laid to rest on Saturday in Turlock, KFSN reported.

The funeral will be closed to the public but anyone who would like to support the family can gather outside the venue.