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Harshavardhana Kikkeri, a Microsoft alumnus from Mysuru, allegedly shot his wife and son before turning the gun on himself in their townhouse near Washington.
Harshavardhana Kikkeri (Left) was the CEO of HoloWorld, a robotics company. (Source: holoworld.one)
New Delhi,UPDATED: Apr 29, 2025 22:31 IST
A Mysuru-based tech entrepreneur died by suicide and his wife and son were found shot dead at their residence near Washington in the United States last week, according to several reports.
The King County Medical Examiner's Office on Monday identified the victims as 57-year-old Harshavardhana Kikkeri, who was the CEO of HoloWorld, a robotics company headquartered in Mysuru's Vijayanagar, his 44-year-old wife Shwetha Panyam, who is also the co-founder of the company, and their 14-year-old son.
King County sheriff’s spokesperson Brandyn Hull said police are suspecting a murder-suicide, The Seattle Times reported. However, officials are still ascertaining the exact reason behind the incident.
The incident happened on Thursday night (US time) and is under investigation. Reports say the younger son, 7 years old, was outside the house when it happened, so he survived.
Police rushed to a townhouse on 129th Place Southeast around 7 pm on Thursday after a 911 call, the King County sheriff's spokesperson said.
Detectives later found blood smeared on the front window and a single hollow-point bullet lying in the street.
"An investigation such as this takes time, and our detectives are working diligently to try and piece together what led to this incident," Hull said.
Alex Gumina, president of the homeowners association, told The Seattle Times that the family of four — a couple and their two sons — mostly kept to themselves.
WHO WAS HARSHAVARDHANA KIKKERI?
Tech innovator Harshavardhana Kikkeri, originally from Kikkeri village in Karnataka, pursued his education in Mysuru and later in the US. He earned a Master's in Electrical Engineering from Syracuse University and worked with Microsoft, focusing on robotics.
According to the description of a TEDx talk posted on YouTube, Kikkeri has received multiple leadership accolades, including the Gold Star from Microsoft, an Excellence Award from Infosys, a Bharat Petroleum Scholarship, and several chess championships.
The description also claims he holds 44 international patents from countries like the US, China, Japan and Europe.
Published By:
Sahil Sinha
Published On:
Apr 29, 2025
