New Delhi: An entrepreneur from Karnataka’s Mysuru has allegedly killed his family dead in Newcastle, near Washington, before killing himself. Harshavardhana Kikkeri is said to have shot his wife Shwetha and their 14-year-old son at their home in Newcastle on April 24.
Reports have suggested that Harshavardhana and Shwetha’s younger son has survided because he wasn’t present at their home at the time of the horrific incident.
According to a report by The Seattle Times, Police found three dead bodies, blood on window, a bullet in the street in King County, as revealed by King County Sheriff’s spokesperson Brandyn Hull. This was after the Police received a call from 911 last week. The intention behind the killings of mother and the elder son followed by self-killing is yet to be revealed.
Harshavardhana was the CEO of HoloWorld, a robotics company headquartered in Mysuru’s Vijayanagar. His wife Shwetha was the co-founder of the company and also served as a chairperson in it. The company was closed down in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, influencing the family to return to US from Mysuru in 2022.
It is reported that Harshavardhana’s mother Girija left for US after learning the shocking news. His father Kikkeri Narayana was a well-known linguist and also said to be a progressive activist.
Harshavardhana hailed from Kikkeri village in Mandya district in Karnataka. He graduated from the Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering in Mysuru. He specialised in robotics and his career was boasted with his stint with Microsoft in the US. He is said to have returned to India along with his wife Shwetha in 2017 to start HoloWorld only for the company operations to cease in 2022.
The company shot to prominence in 2018 after the creation of HoloSuit, a wireless, innovative and full-body motion capture suit. Countries such as US, UK and Israel showed interests in HoloWorld’s products.
Harshavardhana also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to pitch about using robots for border security, according to The Indian Express.
