Suspects in murder of kidnapped tech millionaire caught on video, California cops say
Newly released video shows three suspects in the kidnapping and murder of a California tech millionaire, Santa Cruz County authorities said Wednesday.
Tushar Atre, the 50-year-old victim, was murdered Oct. 1 after he was taken by force from his Pleasure Point Drive home in Santa Cruz, according to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday that the clip “shows the suspects walking out of an alley on East Cliff Drive onto Pleasure Point Drive. One of the suspects is carrying a duffle bag, the third suspect is carrying a rifle.”
Authorities hope the suspects’ walking patterns or mannerisms could generate tips, saying in the video that the suspects caught on camera are believed to have killed Atre.
“The reward has been increased to $150,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the people responsible for the crimes,” deputies said in releasing the video. “The reward offered by private community members will last until December 30, 2019.”
A body discovered last month was identified as that of Atre, Santa Cruz authorities said.
“This is still an ongoing investigation, but we have reason to believe the motive was robbery,” the Sheriff’s Office said in an update on Facebook last month.
Atre was taken from his home on Pleasure Point Drive around 3 a.m. and was last seen getting into an SUV, the Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies later said they found the 2008 BMW SUV and a dead body. The SUV belonged to Atre’s girlfriend, KGO reports.
Authorities said “multiple suspects are involved, but they were unable to provide any descriptions,” according to KGO.
Atre has been described by Northern California TV stations as a “millionaire tech exec” and “well-known businessman.” KPIX reported that Atre founded and was CEO of a web marketing and design firm called AtreNet. A now-removed LinkedIn profile that appeared to be associated with Atre said he had owned the company for nearly 24 years.
He lived in a beachfront home on a “quiet street that is frequented by surfers and known for its multi-million dollar properties,” according to KPIX.
“It’s pretty bizarre that a serious crime like this would happen around here,” Santa Cruz local Brandon Kiel said, according to KGO. “This neighborhood’s great, right here on the point where people surf... (it’s) a pretty busy area.”
According to SFGate, “Atrenet’s website includes scores of clients, including companies like Hewlett Packard, LSI Logic, Seagate, Symantec and VeriSign.”
Atre was also reportedly involved in the marijuana business, with KRON describing him as “the owner of a licensed cannabis manufacturing facility.”
“We do know that Mr. Atre was connected to the cannabis industry, but we don’t know if that is related to his kidnapping,” said Ashley Keehn, a Sheriff’s Office spokesperson, according to KRON.
“We are looking into all aspects of his life,” said Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Brian Cleveland, according to the Los Angeles Times. “All doors are open.”
Cleveland said Atre was at his home with others when “multiple suspects broke into his house and abducted him in his girlfriend’s white BMW,” the Times reported.
Authorities said Atre’s kidnapping “was likely targeted,” according to KGO.
“We think that this was not a random act by any means,” Cleveland said, according to The New York Times.
Material in this story appeared in an earlier piece by the author.
This story was originally published November 13, 2019 at 4:11 PM with the headline "Suspects in murder of kidnapped tech millionaire caught on video, California cops say."
