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The senseless killings of four members of a family-owned trucking business, one of whom was only a baby, is bringing together residents from all walks of life on a nightly basis in Merced, Calif., where they gather to honor the victims’ memories and support loved ones.
Large photos of 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her parents Jasleen Kaur, 27, and Jasdeep Singh, 36, and her uncle Amandeep Singh, 39, were placed on easels in the downtown square as community leaders, religious leaders, family and friends prayed, hugged, spoke and cried during an emotional candlelight vigil Oct. 6.
“Tonight was the community coming together and showing the Singh family that, ‘We’re here with you and we will be here with you for as long as you need us, and we will remember the names of those we lost,’” said family friend Priya Lakireddy.
“This was more about being united and not thinking about that evil person that did this.”
Mourners placed candles beneath photos of the victims during a vigil in Merced’s Bob Hart Square Oct. 6. (Andrew Kuhn/The Merced Sun-Star via Tribune Content Agency)
The family was taken by gunpoint on Oct. 3 from the trucking business they operated since 2005 just south of Merced, leading to a search for the family until the tragic conclusion the night of Oct. 5. Their bodies were found in a rural area of the county northeast of Dos Palos.
“Our community is heartbroken, our community is in shock,” said Merced Mayor Matthew Serratto. “There is anger, there is sadness, but in the face of that, the community is here. We’re confronting that evil, we’re confronting that bad, we’re showing resolve.”
The gathering was the first of four consecutive nights of candlelight vigils, which are scheduled to conclude Oct. 9 in Bob Hart Square.
A GoFundMe account was created for the family, especially for Amandeep Singh’s family, as he was survived by his wife Jaspreet, his daughter Seerat, 9, and son Ekam, 6. The account had raised more than $250,000 as of early Oct. 9.
Images of the victims were displayed by the Merced County Sheriff’s office Oct. 5. Left to right they are 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri; her parents Jasleen Kaur, 27, and Jasdeep Singh, 36; and her uncle Amandeep Singh, 39. (Andrew Kuhn/The Merced Sun-Star via the Associated Press)
Public records show the family owns Unison Trucking Inc., where the suspect, Jesus Manuel Salgado, 48, also once worked. Salgado is being held at the jail on suspicion of four counts of kidnapping and murder.
Salgado, a convicted felon who tried to kill himself a day after the kidnappings, had a longstanding feud with the family, Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke told The Associated Press Oct. 6.
Salgado’s younger brother, Alberto Salgado, 41, was arrested late Oct. 6 and accused of criminal conspiracy, accessory, and destroying evidence, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office said.
The GoFundMe account describes the victims as immigrants who worked tirelessly for 18 years to “achieve safety, security, and community for themselves and their families. Aman and Jasdeep were the primary bread earners for the family, supported their elderly parents, and lived under one roof.”
Contributing: The Associated Press
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