Andhra Pradesh native Venkat Reddy-Goli was found dead in his store by friends.
Bureau Report
WASHINGTON, DC: Police suspect it was a robbery that went wrong, and ended in a homicide, but till date no suspects have been taken into custody in the death of Venkat Reddy-Goli, 47, a liquor store owner who was found dead inside his liquor store in Hamilton County, Cincinnati.
The victim didn’t return home from his liquor store after closing it at 10 p.m. last Saturday to join friends and family for dinner at his Wyoming house, reported Cincinnati.com. His friends and family tried to get in touch with him repeatedly, but after several attempts, they decided to go looking for him.
So his friends went down to Central Liquors at 9908 Colerain Ave., and peered in the windows.
“We came to see if he is still in the store and his car is still at the store and all the lights are on, but it’s locked…His jacket is there on the chair,” a male caller told a Hamilton County dispatcher, said the news report.
“Where do you think he is?” the dispatcher asked.
“We don’t know. We think he may be inside the store…he is not answering his phone.”
Reddy-Goli was found unresponsive when authorities responded to the store just before 1:30 a.m., according to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office. Later, he was pronounced dead at the scene, the victim of a shooting, said Chief Deputy Sean Donovan.
“We are assuming it was a robbery at this point that went bad,” Donovan said, said the news report. “I will know more later this morning.”
Detectives are back out talking to neighboring businesses today to see if they heard or saw anything late Saturday. They also are reviewing security video footage.
Reddy-Goli leaves behind a wife and 15-year-old son, said the man who called 911 but asked that his name not be used. The business is operated by Sai Krishna of Ohio LLC, according to state business records. Its liquor license was issued in September 2011.
His friend said Reddy-Goli began operating it last year and never expressed safety concerns. He also did not keep a gun inside to protect himself, said Cincinnati.com.
“He was hard-working,” his friend said. “He died while working.”