"Signs of a fight in the bathroom" — OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji's parents hire private investigator after son's death

Suchir Balaji, an OpenAI researcher and whistleblower, was found dead in his apartment in San Francisco on November 26, 2024, after his mother filed a missing person report saying it had been three days since she had heard from him. A probe of the scene led to conclusion that Suchir, 26, had died by suicide, since there was no evidence of foul play.

However, Suchir's parents believed he never displayed any signs of mental illness and hired a private investigator to further look into his death. According to them, the initial investigation readily labelled the incident as suicide without investigating Suchir's apartment thoroughly.

Former OpenAI researcher Suchir Balaji's parents hired a private investigator demanding further investigation

According to the police, the medical examiner did an autopsy and confirmed the death as suicide, with no reported indication of foul play. However, Suchir's parents expressed doubts surrounding the initial investigation, because it allegedly lasted for only 40 seconds. They did not find a suicide note, either. Subsequently, Suchir's parents sought services of a private investigator to probe the case. As per his parents, Suchir last talked to his father on November 22, 2024 and he appeared to be happy on the phone call. He was planning to meet his family as it was his birthday week. Suchir's father said:

"I was the last person to talk to him. He was happy, more - not depressed or anything. And it was his birthday week."

Suchir's death took place within three months of his accusations against OpenAI. Raised in the San Francisco Bay area, Suchir Balaji joined OpenAI as an intern in summer 2018 while studying at the University of California, Berkeley. Later, after two years, he joined the company full-time and worked on several important projects, including WebGPT.

However, after working for four years, he resigned from his position in August 2024 and publicly accused the company of not abiding by the U.S. copyright laws during the development of ChatGPT. OpenAI denied the allegations and stated that the company had not violated any copyright law.

In a statement, an OpenAI spokesperson said:

"We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time."

Recently, Suchir's mother, Poornima Rao, posted an update on the investigation on social media:

Trending

"We hired private investigator and did second autopsy to throw light on the cause of death. Private autopsy doesn't confirm cause of death stated by police. Suchir's apartment was ransacked, sign of struggle in the bathroom and looks like some one hit him in the bathroom based on blood spots. It's a cold-blooded murder declared by authorities as suicide," she wrote, demanding an FBI investigation.

On Friday, December 27, 2024 a vigil was held in Milpitas, San Francisco, in the memory of Suchir and to honor his contributions to society. No further details regarding the investigation have been provided yet.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback

Comment