CEO 'Humiliated' Workers Accused Of Kidnapping And Killing Him: Report

SANTA CRUZ, CA — A Santa Cruz area tech executive “humiliated” two former employees who were later charged with kidnapping, robbing and killing him, a detective testified this week during a trial for one of the men, KRON reported.

Tushar Atre was kidnapped in the early morning hours of Oct. 1, 2019, from his oceanfront home in Pleasure Point and killed, according to police.

In May 2020, the ex-workers, Kaleb Charters and Stephen N. Linsday, were arrested on suspicion of murder, robbery and kidnapping, police have said. Also arrested and charged were Joshua J. Camps and Kurtis Charters, according to police.

Kaleb Charters and Lindsay worked for Atre's cannabis company, Interstitial Systems, according to police. Atre, 50, was also the owner of Atrenet, a corporate website development company serving Silicon Valley tech companies, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Lindsay and Kurtis Charters were convicted earlier this year in murder trials and sentenced to life in prison, KRON reported, while Kaleb Charters’ trial, in which he is pleading not guilty to first-degree murder, was ongoing this week.

Sam Borghese, who had managed the cannabis business for Atre, testified that Artre often yelled at workers, withheld paychecks and fired employees if he felt disrespected, according to KRON.

In the weeks ahead of his killing, Atre became upset over misplaced keys for one of the trucks at the farm and bounced Charters’ and Lindsay’s paychecks, Borghese testified, KRON reported. The pair found the keys, but an argument broke out about the checks, with Atre forcing them to do hundreds of pushups before giving them new checks, according to KRON.

The two men were considered early in the investigation as people who could have a motive to hurt Atre, Detective Ethan Rumrill testified Monday, adding “they were humiliated,” KRON reported.