Former winery owner murdered

A venture capitalist and one-time winery owner has been killed during a break in at his Silicon Valley home.

Raveesh Kumra (pictured) was the former owner of The Mountain Winery in Saratoga, which he bought in 1995 for US$6 million.

It was sold in 1999 apparently after a series of arguments with his workforce.

Kumra had arrived in the US in the 1970s and made his millions in the mobile phone industry.

The break in occurred last Friday and Kumra’s wife, Harinder, who was wounded in the attack, called the police in the early hours of the morning to say that four men had ransacked the house and killed her husband.

She later described the leader of the gang as being white, possibly latino, in his early 20s, skinny with black hair and dark eyes.

She was taken to hospital with “non-life-threatening” injuries. Police are appealing for information but have so far released no further details of the incident.