Suspect refuses court hearing in murder of Merced family, brother appears
The family of four was kidnapped from their family business in Merced County and were found dead in an orchard near Dos Palos.
MERCED, Calif. (KFSN) -- A man accused of helping his brother kidnap and kill a Merced family of four was in court for a preliminary hearing on Tuesday morning.
Alberto Salgado appeared alone in a courtroom at what was supposed to be a joint hearing with his brother, Jesus Salgado.
Alberto is charged with helping Jesus with the kidnapping and killing of eight-month-old baby Aroohi Dheri, her parents Jasdeep Singh and Jasleen Kaur, and her uncle, Amandeep Singh.
Jesus refused to appear in court, disappointing the victims' family.
The family of four was kidnapped from their family business in Merced County and were found dead in an orchard near Dos Palos last October.
Navdeep Kaur, the sister of Amandeep and Jasdeep, says it's difficult for the family to be at every court date, especially since Jesus refused to appear.
"Finally, once we are here. It is definitely very, very disappointing," said Navdeep.
The father of the two victims, Sukhdeep Dheri, also had the courage to attend court.
Wiping away his tears. he says that he will continue the fight for justice.
"It's like nobody can imagine what we are going through right now, but we still hope to get justice," said Sukhdeep.
After more than six months after the passing of their loved ones, the family tells Action News their loss is still painful.
"We are living in hell, we want to know what happened to my family, why this criminal act happened - why he ended our life, not just all four of them - he ended our life too," said Sukhdeep.
Tuesday's court appearance was less than five minutes long.
Katie Gates from the Merced County District Attorney's Office says she has filed a motion to consolidate, so both defendants, can have their preliminary hearing at the same time.
"They are a little bit fatigued by the process, they understand the importance of going through the legal process," explained Gates. "We have spoken about that and it might be a long haul, this is the way that we are going to seek justice for them.
"Right now, we are just holding on to the hope that justice will be served one day. If not today, then tomorrow, and that tomorrow will be there," said Navdeep.
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