MERCED, Calif. - The suspect in the killing of a Merced family had worked for the victims at one point, according to a relative.A loved one told KTVU that Jesus Salgado, 48, once drove a truck for the family's company.The bodies of 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her parents Jasleen Kaur, 27, and Jasdeep Singh, 36; and her uncle Amandeep Singh, 39., were found at an orchard in Merced County two days after they were kidnapped at gunpoint from their business, police said.SEE ALSO: Body language analyzed while slain Merced family kidnapped"Our worst fears have been confirmed," Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said at a Wednesday night news conference.Warnke said the victims were close to each other when found by a farmworker tending to an almond orchard in a remote area near the town of Dos Palos, a town about 30 miles south of Merced where the family was kidnapped on Monday.A source close to the investigation told KTVU that the two brothers were killed with a machete.
The source said Kaur was then shot as she held her baby girl in her arms. The baby was then left to die.Sheriff's officials said they believed the family was killed before their relatives reported them missing Monday.The grim announcement of the family's death came after authorities earlier Wednesday released surveillance video of Salgado kidnapping the family Monday.The video showed the suspect first walking by the property before talking to one of the men.
Later, it shows him leading the men, who had their hands zip-tied behind their backs, into the back seat of Amandeep Singh’s pickup truck.