The household of Suchir Balaji state he was murdered and akropolistravel.com didn't kill himself. Now they have actually taken legal action against San Francisco and its cops department.

Decrypt's Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub.

The parents of departed OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji have taken legal action against the city of San Francisco and the San Francisco Police Department, alleging that the genuine cause of his death was not suicide, however murder.

The claim, filed in January, declares that the SFPD covered up the crime, ruling it a suicide without conducting an extensive investigation.

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

"The claim demands that the city, police department, and medical examiner release public documents kept under the general public Records Act," Joseph Goethals, lawyer for the petitioners, told Decrypt. He said that if the files weren't supplied within 10 days, and "no legitimate exceptions use, a claim can force their release. We will seek 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 son's death was rushed and insufficient, with officials disregarding essential forensic findings and failing to address their requests for further inquiry.

The claim demands the instant disclosure of all reports, images, and videos, along with coverage of legal expenses.

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 public launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, he had actually helped OpenAI gather and utilize "massive quantities" of data taken from the web without authorization.

According to the claim, in December, Balaji's household hired forensic pathologist Dr. Joseph Cohen to perform a private autopsy. In his report, Dr. Cohen figured out 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 small left-to-right angle, completely missing out on 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 situations of his death.

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

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

Despite Balaji's discoveries, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman pushed back on the New claims. Speaking at the newspaper's yearly DealBook Summit, Altman dismissed the claims.