OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji's mother shares pic from day of his death, alleges 'murder conspiracy'

Poornima Rao, the mother of OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji, who was found dead in his San Francisco apartment in November last year, has shared a picture from the day of his death. The picture, taken from a CCTV footage, shows Balaji waiting for an elevator with a brown paper bag in his hand - which is supposedly his dinner, Balaji's mother claimed.

Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Rao shared a snapshot of Suchir from the night of his death, captured at 7:30 pm while he was out getting dinner. The footage, she claims, contradicts the official narrative. “Suchir’s picture on the day of his death at 7:30 pm, getting dinner. This is from CCTV footage. OCME saw this video and still concluded he was depressed and called it suicide,” she posted.

Further casting doubts, she added, "Another cover by OCME: they stated to our attorney that GHB is endogenous 3 days after death. But we found out that level of endogenous GHB is less than 5000ng/L. A line in autopsy report says that toxicology report will include GHB only if it is more than 50000 Ng/L. Combined with alcohol this is a sedative. With this combination he will be losing muscle control or possibly unconscious. We are waiting for toxicologist to give a written report."

Later, she put out another post alleging that some of the CCTVs near her son's vicinty stopped working. "One more suspensions finding CCTV in garage of Suchir’s apartment and neighbors stopped working. One of the elevator CCTV also stopped working. This m*rder conspiracy is executed over long term planning and watching Suchir," she wrote.

This is not the first time the Suchir's mother has challenged the official ruling. Last month, Rao revealed that they had received the autopsy report but found it riddled with "tons of inconsistencies." She maintained that the conclusions drawn did not align with the actual findings. 

"We are fighting for justice and will not back down," Rao affirmed.

However, the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) issued a joint statement, reaffirming that Balaji’s cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

“The OCME found no evidence or information to establish a cause and manner of death for Mr. Balaji other than a suicide by self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head,” the report stated. SFPD backed this conclusion, stating that their independent investigation found “insufficient evidence to determine Mr. Balaji’s death was the result of a homicide.”

Also read: Mother of OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji calls him "martyr for justice" (WATCH)

Elon Musk Weighs in on the Conspiracy

The conspiracy in the case, found backing with Elon Musk also hinting at foul play. “This doesn’t seem like a suicide," Musk said in a reply to Suchir Balaji's mother, who at the time also raised doubts on the investigation.

Then in January this year, Musk once again called the situation "extremely concerning" while sharing a video from Tucker Carlon's YouTube channel which also raised doubts on labeling the case a 'suicide'.

Death of Suchir Balaji

Suchir Balaji, prominently -known in the technology industry, earned recognition for his outspoken views against artificial intelligence methodologies. Excelling in computer science at UC Berkeley, he started working at OpenAI in 2020, contributing to foundational projects that led to ChatGPT's development.

His tenure ended in August when he resigned due to concerns regarding ethical issues surrounding copyright infringement.

"If you believe what I believe, you have to just leave the company," he expressed during an interview with The New York Times in October. Soon after his criticisms went public, he was found dead in his San Francisco residence on November 26, shortly after he celebrated his 26th birthday.

Also read: ERASED? OpenAI seemingly wipes references to dead whistleblower Suchir Balaji from ChatGPT