Karnataka tech CEO, wife, and son found dead in US home; Police suspect tragic murder-suicide
A tech entrepreneur from
Mysuru
,
Harshavardhana Kikkeri
, was found dead along with his wife and son at their home near Seattle in the United States last week. Police suspect it was a case of
murder-suicide
, The
Seattle Times
reported.
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The King County Medical Examiner's Office on Monday identified the victims as 57-year-old Harshavardhana Kikkeri, CEO of robotics company HoloWorld, his 44-year-old wife Shwetha Panyam, who co-founded the company, and their 14-year-old son. Their bodies were discovered at their townhouse in 129th Place Southeast on Thursday night (local US time).
According to the King County Sheriff's Office, officers were called to the scene around 7 pm after a 911 emergency call. Deputies found blood on a front window and a single hollow-point bullet on the street outside the home.
Detectives are still investigating the exact cause and sequence of events. 'An investigation such as this takes time, and our detectives are working diligently to try and piece together what led to this incident,' sheriff's spokesperson Brandyn Hull told The Seattle Times.
Thankfully, the couple's younger son, who is seven years old, survived the incident. Reports say he was outside the house when the tragedy took place.
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Neighbours told local media that the family kept to themselves. Alex Gumina, president of the homeowners association, said they were known to be quiet and private.
Harshavardhana Kikkeri originally came from Kikkeri village in Karnataka. He completed his early education in Mysuru and later moved to the US, where he earned a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from
Syracuse University
. He worked at major tech firms, including Microsoft, where he focused on robotics and innovation.
According to a description on his
TEDx talk
posted on YouTube, Kikkeri held 44 international patents across the US, China, Japan, and Europe. He was honoured with awards such as the Gold Star from Microsoft, an Excellence Award from
Infosys
, and a
Bharat Petroleum
Scholarship. He also won several chess championships.
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