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

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

Decrypt's Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub.

The parents of deceased 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, declares that the SFPD covered the criminal activity, ruling it a suicide without performing a thorough investigation.

Balaji, who had worked as a scientist at OpenAI, was discovered dead in his San Francisco house last November. Attorneys state Balaji's moms and dads, Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy, requested further investigation into his death but were informed the case was already closed.

"The claim demands that the city, police department, and medical examiner release public files kept under the general public Records Act," Joseph Goethals, attorney for the petitioners, informed Decrypt. He said that if the documents weren't supplied within 10 days, and "no valid exceptions apply, a claim can compel their release. We will seek a court order to obtain them."

The claim claims that SFPD breached the California Public Records Act by unlawfully keeping public records of the case. Attorneys for Ramarao and Ramamurthy also argued that the examination into their boy's death was hurried and insufficient, with authorities overlooking essential forensic findings and failing to resolve their demands for more query.

The claim demands the immediate disclosure of all reports, photos, and videos, together with protection of legal costs.

Said Geothals: "If the San Francisco Superior Court does not interpret and enforce the law properly, we will seek recourse 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 city Times in October, he said that before the general public launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, he had actually helped OpenAI collect and use "massive amounts" of information drawn from the web without approval.

According to the claim, in December, Balaji's household employed forensic pathologist Dr. Joseph Cohen to perform a personal autopsy. In his report, Dr. Cohen identified 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 unusual for trademarketclassifieds.com a suicide, as it took a trip downward at a small left-to-right angle, totally missing out on the brain before lodging in the brainstem, according to the match. Dr. Cohen identified a contusion on the back of Balaji's head, which he said raised further questions about the scenarios of his death.

The San Francisco did not right away respond to an ask for comment by Decrypt.

The claim called out the circumstances of Bilaji's death. His body was found a week after The New york city Times discussed the whistleblower in a court filing related to its claim against OpenAI.

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