Suchir Balaji's Mother New Charge As Sam Altman Calls OpenAI Whistleblower's Death "Suicide"

OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji's parents have once again questioned the official suicide ruling, adding that he may have been murdered. Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy have detailed findings from a private autopsy and independent investigation that contradict the authorities' conclusion of death by suicide.

The 26-year-old was found dead in San Francisco in November 2024. The Indian-origin researcher resigned from OpenAI in August that year, alleging the company violated US copyright laws. Authorities initially determined his death resulted from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His blood toxicology report indicated alcohol, amphetamines, and GHB.

Poornima Ramarao, his mother, spoke to Diya TV on Monday and questioned the official findings, saying that the trajectory of the fatal gunshot wound makes suicide physically "impossible."

"The trajectory goes from the middle and points straight to the brainstem. He couldn't have reached that level with such high intoxication," she said. "He can't reach himself at that level with so much intoxication and an inability to hold a gun itself."

The autopsy also revealed lacerations on his gums, burn marks on his tongue, and a hole in his mouth, suggesting potential gagging or torture. "He was gagged or tortured with a heavy object. How could they miss all these things? They're accountable," she asked.

Describing Suchir Balaji's behaviour the day before his death, Ms Ramarao said, "The previous day he celebrated his 26th birthday. He just had one day to live after 26. He doesn't look tired. He doesn't look depressed."

"We've heard that this is a suicide... If someone really wants to take their life, why would they eat their dinner? Why would they do their laundry? Why would they unpack their clothes?"

The toxicology report from the private autopsy also raised concerns. Suchir Balaji had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.178 per cent, equivalent to consuming seven to eight drinks.

"He was not a heavy drinker," his mother said. The report also detected high levels of GHB, a substance often associated with incapacitation. His mother speculates that a combination of alcohol and GHB may have been used to subdue her son before his death. "They first gave him alcohol to loosen him up, then GHB to make him talk," she suggested.

The parents also pointed to discrepancies in building surveillance footage. They claim that one of the two elevator cameras in the apartment complex was intentionally disconnected a week prior to Suchir Balaji's death.

"We see the days when he came home, the security guard is taking the video of the route from that elevator, in which there was no camera, to another room where they could hide or something like that. And that's the elevator that takes them down to the entrance where there is no CCTV," she said.

The crime scene reportedly contained other blood spatters, one from the mouth and one from a head injury, that were not included in the medical examiner's report, the parents claimed. His mother said that neighbours in the 200-unit complex reported hearing no gunshot.

"His gun was found there on the crime scene, his personal gun...His gun did not have a silencer," she said.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, in a recent interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, maintained that Suchir Balaji died by suicide.