Parents Of Dead OpenAI Whistleblower Sue San Francisco, Alleging Murder Cover-Up

The household of Suchir Balaji say he was killed and didn’t eliminate himself. Now they have actually taken legal action against San Francisco and its cops department.

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The moms and dads of departed OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji have actually 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, alleges that the SFPD covered up the criminal activity, ruling it a suicide without performing a comprehensive examination.

Balaji, who had worked as a researcher at OpenAI, was found dead in his San Francisco apartment or condo last November. Attorneys state Balaji’s moms and dads, Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy, requested even more examination into his death but were informed the case was already closed.

„The claim requires that the city, authorities department, and medical examiner release public documents kept under the general public Records Act,“ Joseph Goethals, for the petitioners, informed Decrypt. He said that if the files weren’t supplied within 10 days, and „no legitimate exceptions use, a claim can compel their release. We will seek a court order to obtain them.“

The claim claims that SFPD violated the California Public Records Act by unlawfully withholding public records of the case. Attorneys for Ramarao and Ramamurthy likewise argued that the investigation into their boy’s death was hurried and inadequate, with authorities overlooking key forensic findings and failing to resolve their ask for additional questions.

The claim demands the immediate disclosure of all reports, pictures, 103.6.222.206 and videos, along with coverage of legal costs.

Said Geothals: „If the San Francisco Superior Court does not interpret and enforce the law properly, we will seek option with the Court of Appeal. We hope it doesn’t pertain to that.“

Balaji worked for OpenAI from November 2020 to August 2024. In an interview with The New York Times in October, he said that before the public launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, he had actually helped OpenAI gather and utilize „enormous amounts“ of information taken from the web without authorization.

According to the claim, in December, Balaji’s family employed forensic pathologist Dr. Joseph Cohen to carry out a private autopsy. In his report, Dr. Cohen determined that there was a single gunshot wound in the mid-forehead, slightly to the right of the bridge of his nose.

Dr. Cohen said that the bullet trajectory was uncommon for a suicide, as it traveled downward at a small left-to-right angle, completely missing the brain before lodging in the brainstem, according to the suit. Dr. Cohen recognized a contusion on the back of Balaji’s head, which he said raised even more questions about the circumstances of his death.

The San Francisco Police Department did not instantly react to a request for remark by Decrypt.

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

Despite Balaji’s discoveries, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman pressed back on the New York Times’ claims. Speaking at the paper’s annual DealBook Summit, Altman dismissed the claims.