According to authorities, Tushar Atre knew at least two of the guys accused of killing him. They were his employees. Three intruders, one of whom was armed with a weapon, kidnapped the Santa Cruz tech CEO from his waterfront Pleasure Point house in the early hours of October 1, 2019. Atre was put into his girlfriend’s white BMW SUV and driven to a cannabis-manufacturing facility he owned in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Deputies discovered his dead on Soquel San Jose Road at 9 a.m. that day. He died as a result of a gunshot wound.
Every loss of life is tragic, but when factors like pain, suffering, and inexplicable misery are added to the mix, especially in the case of a horrific crime, the grief multiplies tenfold. Unfortunately, as CBS’ ‘48 Hours: Who Shot the Tech Exec?‘ revealed, that’s exactly what happened in Tushar Atre’s abduction and murder case in 2019.
So, if you’re interested in learning more about the case, including the victim’s background, the cause of death, the suspected assailants, and their possible intentions, here’s everything we know.
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What Happened with Tushar Atre and Hod Did He Die?
Tushar Atre, 50, was not only the founder/CEO of AtreNet, an internet marketing company, but he was also dabbling in the cannabis sector when everything went wrong. Until the early morning hours of October 1, 2019, the Indian-origin self-made software entrepreneur and outdoor enthusiast had it all going for him.
After all, attackers stormed into his wealthy Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz house, at roughly 2:45 a.m. that day. Tushar was awakened by the ruckus, and the assailants pushed him into his girlfriend’s BMW SUV before driving away.
Someone on Tushar’s property had apparently witnessed the kidnapping and quickly contacted 911, prompting authorities to arrive on the scene in a matter of minutes, only to find a pool of blood in front of the house. A lengthy search for the prominent tech executive occurred, but all that was discovered were his remains, discovered at 9 a.m. at his own cannabis factory in the Santa Cruz Mountains on Soquel San Jose Road.
The ever-passionate man was stabbed multiple times before succumbing to a deadly gunshot wound to the back of his skull, according to official records.
Who Killed Tushar Atre and Why?
Despite surveillance footage showing three males walking towards Tushar Atre’s oceanfront property around the time of the event, no clear leads in the case were found at first. While one of the potential perpetrators was clearly carrying a duffle bag and another clutched a firearm, none of their faces could be identified.
As a result, detectives had to rely solely on interviews with Tushar’s friends, family, and employees, as well as tips from the general public, because there were no indicators of a forced entry, indications of a plundered place, or any other direct evidence.
The officials had released the video in the hopes that someone might recognise one of the three suspects based on their clothing or demeanour, but they were unsuccessful. In fact, it wasn’t until they started looking into Interstitial Systems, Tushar’s cannabis production company, that they found a breakthrough, since the names of two former employees kept cropping up again and again.
Despite the fact that this duo had only been at the institution for two weeks in August 2019, there was still a lot of animosity between the hierarchical parties in that short time.
Tushar allegedly blamed Stephen Nicolas Lindsay and Kaleb Charters for misplacing a set of his car keys, prompting the entrepreneur to suspend their wages. As if that weren’t enough, he was also renowned for forcing his staff to do push-ups as a kind of punishment, which he supposedly did with this duo as well, causing them to be offended.
Atre Murder Suspects- the Booking Photos
23 yr old JOSHUA JAMES CAMPS
22 yr old KURTIS CHARTERS
22 yr old STEPHEN NICOLAS LINDSAYIn county jail/ No Bail SO Case# 1908550#lifewithout pic.twitter.com/4ICbXVkwKr
— Santa Cruz, CA: Keepin' it Real (@Big_Joe_77) May 20, 2020
The car keys were eventually recovered, and he paid both Stephen and Kaleb to put an end to this chapter, but only partially.
As a result, police believe Stephen and Kaleb eventually enlisted the help of two more people before ruthlessly tracking down the millionaire to either retrieve their money or exact retribution – or possibly both.
As a result, Stephen and Kaleb, as well as Kaleb’s brother Kurtis Charters and a friend Joshua Camps, were caught and charged with murder, kidnapping, and robbery, some under unusual circumstances, in May 2020. They’ve all subsequently pleaded not guilty and offered various defences, which means they’re just waiting for a trial to see if they’re actually innocent or not.
