GitLab

The household of Suchir Balaji say he was killed and didn't eliminate himself. Now they've taken legal action against San Francisco and its police department.

Decrypt's Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub.

The moms and dads of deceased OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji have taken legal action against the city of San Francisco and the San Francisco Police Department, alleging that the real reason for his death was not suicide, but murder.

The claim, submitted in January, declares that the SFPD concealed the criminal offense, ruling it a suicide without carrying out a comprehensive examination.

Balaji, who had actually worked as a researcher at OpenAI, was discovered dead in his San Francisco home last November. Attorneys say Balaji's parents, Poornima Ramarao and allmy.bio Balaji Ramamurthy, asked for even more examination into his death however were told the case was currently closed.

"The claim requires that the city, authorities department, and medical inspector release public files kept under the Public Records Act," Joseph Goethals, lawyer for the petitioners, told Decrypt. He said that if the files weren't offered within 10 days, and "no valid exceptions apply, a claim can force their release. We will look for a court order to obtain them."

The claim claims that SFPD violated the California Public Records Act by unlawfully keeping public records of the case. Attorneys for Ramarao and Ramamurthy also argued that the investigation into their child's death was rushed and inadequate, with authorities neglecting key forensic findings and failing to address their requests for more query.

The claim requires the immediate disclosure of all reports, images, and videos, along with protection of legal costs.

Said Geothals: "If the San Francisco Superior Court does not analyze and impose the law correctly, we will look for recourse with the Court of Appeal. We hope it does not pertain to that."

Balaji worked for OpenAI from November 2020 to August 2024. In an interview with The New york city Times in October, he said that before the general public launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, he had assisted OpenAI gather and use "enormous quantities" of information drawn from the internet without permission.

According to the claim, in December, Balaji's household worked with forensic pathologist Dr. Joseph Cohen to perform a personal autopsy. In his report, Dr. Cohen determined that there was a single gunshot wound in the mid-forehead, somewhat to the right of the bridge of his nose.

Dr. Cohen said that the bullet trajectory was unusual for a suicide, as it took a trip downward at a minor left-to-right angle, entirely missing out on the brain before lodging in the brainstem, according to the fit. Dr. Cohen identified a contusion on the back of head, which he said raised further concerns about the scenarios of his death.

The San Francisco Police Department did not immediately react to a demand for remark by Decrypt.

The claim called out the scenarios of Bilaji's death. His body was discovered a week after The New York Times pointed out the whistleblower in a court filing associated to its claim against OpenAI.

Despite Balaji's revelations, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman pressed back on the New york city Times' claims. Speaking at the newspaper's yearly DealBook Summit, Altman dismissed the claims.