These are Merced County’s most notorious murders. See where killers are now
Merced County has witnessed a number of notorious crimes over the past century.
High-profile cases range from a pitchfork attack that killed two children to the murders of three Yosemite National Park tourists.
What happened to the people convicted of those crimes? Where are they incarcerated?
Here’s what happened to the people involved in five high-profile cases:
Merced County killer executed at San Quentin prison
In 1919, Tom Bellon became the first person convicted in Merced County to be executed at what was then known as San Quentin State Prison, The Sun-Star previously reported.
In 1918, Bellon slashed his wife’s throat with a razor and shot his brother-in-law with a shotgun. He then fatally cut his mother-in-law’s throat.
After being captured, Bellon expressed a wish that he had “killed them all,” the Sun-Star reported in 1918.
“Let them hang me,” he reportedly said. “I don’t care.”
Bellon pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and sentenced to death by hanging.
Merced County man tried twice for wife’s murder
In 1972, Merced County resident Mary Jo Bennett vanished.
Her husband, Timothy Bennett, was indicted in connection to her disappearance in 1974 after failing a lie detector test, former Merced County Superior Court judge Robert Quall wrote in the Merced County Times in 2022.
Spelling errors in notes found in Mary Jo Bennett’s bedroom served as key evidence during her husband’s trial.
A jury convicted Timothy Bennett of first-degree murder, and he was sentenced to life in prison.
Bennett’s conviction was overturned in 1976 because he had not been informed his Miranda rights when being interviewed by a psychiatrist, Quall said.
Before a second trial could start, Bennett pled guilty to second-degree murder and led officials to his wife’s body. Mary Jo Bennett had been strangled to death with a rope.
Timothy Bennett was released from prison in 1978 and died from cancer three years later.
What happened to man who killed Yosemite tourists?
In 1999, Cary Stayner kidnapped and murdered a mother, her teenage daughter, and an exchange student during their trip to Yosemite National Park, The Mercury News previously reported.
Stayner, who was a handyman at the motel where the three were staying, confessed the crimes to the FBI months later.
A jury convicted Stayner of the murders, and he was sentenced to death. Separately, he pleaded guilty to kidnapping and killing a Yosemite Institute employee.
As of Thursday, the 64-year-old Stayner was incarcerated at Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City.
Merced man fatally stabbed 2 children with pitchfork
In 2000, Merced resident Jonothan David Bruce broke into a Merced County home and stabbed three children with a pitchfork, killing an 8-year-old boy and his 9-year-old sister.
Despite being wounded, their 14-year-old sister fled through a laundry window with another sibling, the Merced Sun-Star previously reported.
A fourth sister also escaped through a window and ran to a neighbor’s home to call for help.
When Merced County Sheriff’s Office entered the home, Bruce charged at them with a pitchfork and they fatally shot him.
The children’s parents were not home at the time of the brutal attack.
Authorities later identified Bruce through fingerprint records from his 1999 arrest on suspicion being under the influence of methamphetamines and fighting with police, ABC News reported.
Brothers kidnapped, killed Merced County family
In 2022, four family members — an 8-month-old girl, her parents and her uncle — were kidnapped at gunpoint from their Merced business, the Merced Sun-Star previously reported.
A farmworker found their bodies days later in a rural Merced County, northeast of Dos Palos.
Two brothers — Alberto Salgado and Jesus Manuel Salgado — were charged in connection with the crimes.
Jesus Manuel Salgado, who faces charges including first-degree murder, is awaiting trial after firing his attorney, ABC News reported.
Alberto Salgado was sentenced in 2024 to more than three and a half years in prison for being an accessory to murder, conspiracy to commit burglary and arson, the Sun-Star reported. He was later released from prison.
Salgado was arrested on June 23 on suspicion of failure to stop at a red light, obstructing public officers and violating parole, according to Merced County Superior Court. He’s due back in court on July 20.
As of Monday, July 6, Salgado and his brother were in custody at Merced County Jail, according to inmate records from the Merced County Sheriff’s Office.
