New Delhi: OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji’s parents rejected the official claim that their son died by suicide, alleging that the 28-year-old was shot twice in the head and that the original autopsy missed critical evidence.
Suchir was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on November 26, 2024, nearly a month after he raised concerns about OpenAI’s methods of training ChatGPT. His death was initially ruled a suicide by a single gunshot wound, but a second autopsy revealed otherwise.
His parents, Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy, said they personally saw two gunshot wounds on their son’s body and that neither appeared immediately fatal. The second autopsy, conducted by Dr Daniel Cousin, found another bullet that had entered through the mouth and lodged at the base of the skull, without causing extensive brain damage. It also found injuries on his tongue, cheekbone, and knee, along with signs of a date rape drug in his system – none of which were mentioned in the official autopsy report.
“Why is there blood outside the bathroom? Why is his tongue ripped? Why is there a head wound, a broken cheekbone and blood on his knee? Why was a drug found in his body?” Poornima asked. The family believes key forensic details were ignored or covered up, and they have filed a lawsuit against the City of San Francisco seeking a new probe.
Who was Suchir Balaji?
Suchir Balaji was a machine learning researcher and former employee at OpenAI, the organization behind ChatGPT. He had resigned from the company in August 2024 and soon after published a critical essay questioning OpenAI’s practices, especially its use of copyrighted data for training AI models. He claimed these practices were in violation of US copyright laws and hinted at ethical concerns over transparency and data usage.
Balaji’s claims made him a key witness in several lawsuits being prepared against OpenAI. He was known to be deeply disturbed by the direction in which AI development was heading, and many believed he feared for his safety after making his concerns public.
What is the case?
On November 26, 2024, Suchir Balaji was found dead in his apartment in San Francisco. San Francisco police department and medical examiner ruled it a suicide, saying he died from a single self-inflicted gunshot wound using a gun registered to him. However, his family and independent experts have repeatedly contested this conclusion, pointing to forensic evidence of multiple injuries, signs of struggle, and inconsistencies in the medical report.
The second autopsy by Dr Cousin contradicted the initial findings. It noted that the bullet through the mouth didn’t follow a normal suicide trajectory and instead got lodged harmlessly at the skull base. The presence of extensive tongue damage, a head wound, and drug traces further complicated the narrative.
Despite growing pressure from public figures including Elon Musk and Congressman Ro Khanna, officials refused to reopen the case, citing lack of “new actionable evidence.”
