Indian origin CEO allegedly shoots wife, son before killing self in US townhouse: Report
Neighbours said the family of four kept to themselves and lived in the townhouse; Kikkeri's younger son (7) is the lone survivor in the family
Harshavardhana Kikkeri, a 57-year-old Indian-origin CEO, allegedly killed his co-founder wife Shwetha Panyam (44), son Dhruva Kikkeri (14) and later died by suicide in a townhouse in the United State's Washington last week.
The incident came to light when a case of shooting was reported to King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) in Newcastle. The Medical Examiners Office confirmed that three people were found dead at the crime scene, according to Renton Reporter.
Authorities said that the CEO's son and wife died of gunshot wounds and the manner of death was homicide. While his son was discovered with bullet wounds to his head, his wife's body had an extra shooting injury to her torso. Later, Kikkeri died by suicide.
Neighbours said the family of four kept to themselves and lived in the townhouse, with the couple's younger son, 7, being the only survivor.
Officials did not disclose the motive behind the crime but acknowledged that questions may arise around the circumstances of this incident. They also opted to proceed with their investigation. “An investigation such as this takes time, and our detectives are working diligently to try and piece together what led to this incident. Until this work concludes, the Sheriff’s Office won’t have any further updates,” the report quoted the KSCO officials as saying.
Kikkeri is a native of Karnataka's Mandya and studied in Mysuru and later in the US. He held a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from Syracuse University and had worked with Microsoft, specialising in robotics.
The former CEO has won numerous leadership awards including Gold Star from Microsoft, Excellence Award from Infosys, Bharat Petroleum Scholarship and several chess tournaments.
The couple founded HoloWorld after returning to India in 2017, but the firm reportedly ended its operations in 2022.
Kikkeri and his family went back to US in 2022 and created HoloSuit, a full body motion capture suit with AI capabilities. The invention made headlines for its capacity to act as a virtual trainer for a human body.
Note: Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable.
Those in distress may contact Sanjivini, Society for Mental Health suicide prevention helpline: 011-40769002, Sumaitri (Delhi) 011-23389090, Aasra (Mumbai) 022-27546669, Sneha (Chennai) 044-24640050, Cooj (Goa) 0832- 2252525, Jeevan (Jamshedpur) 065-76453841, Pratheeksha (Kochi) 048-42448830, Maithri (Kochi) 0484-2540530, Roshni (Hyderabad) 040-66202000, Lifeline 033-64643267 (Kolkata).
