The mother of OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji, who was found dead in his San Francisco apartment last year, has shared new surveillance camera images that she claims cast doubt on the official ruling of suicide.
Balaji, a 26-year-old researcher, was discovered by police on November 26 during a welfare check. He had recently spoken out against OpenAI, alleging that the company violated U.S. copyright laws while developing ChatGPT.
Just one month after his allegations were published in The New York Times, he was found dead.
While the medical examiner's office ruled his death as suicide and found no evidence of foul play, Balaji’s family has rejected this conclusion, insisting there is more to the story.
Surveillance Footage Raises New Questions
His mother, Poornima Ramarao, has now shared surveillance images from the day of his death, showing Balaji returning home with food around 7:30PM.
She argues that he appeared calm and did not show signs of distress that would indicate he was planning to take his own life.
Posting the footage on X, she wrote: "Another pic of Suchir coming back home after backpacking trip, same day he was killed. Does he look stressed?"
Ramarao claims that despite officials reviewing the footage, they still concluded that her son was depressed. She also raised concerns over pending toxicology results, hinting at the possibility that Balaji may have been sedated.
According to her, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) stated that the chemical GHB, which can be used as a sedative, can appear in the body naturally three days after death.
However, she disputed this, alleging: "We found out that the level of endogenous GHB is less than 5000ng/L. A line in the autopsy report says that toxicology 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."
Allegations of Camera Tampering
Ramarao has also pointed to possible tampering with surveillance cameras in Balaji’s building.
She claimed that footage from one of the elevator cameras, the garage, and neighboring areas had stopped working on the day of her son’s death.
"One more suspicious finding: CCTV in the garage of Suchir’s apartment and neighbors' cameras stopped working. One of the elevator CCTV cameras also stopped working," she wrote on X. "This mrder conspiracy is executed over long-term planning and watching Suchir."*
Family Demands Further Investigation
Balaji’s parents have hired an independent expert to conduct a second autopsy, believing that critical details may have been overlooked.
His mother insists that her son was happy and not suicidal, telling ABC 7 News: "He went into his apartment and never came out. How can anyone believe that there was no suicide note left? And there was nobody else on the scene. That doesn't mean they can just come to that conclusion."
She also claims that there were bloodstains and signs of a struggle in the bathroom, which she believes indicate foul play.
Ramarao previously revealed that her son had confided in her about his concerns regarding artificial intelligence, stating:
"AI is a harm to humanity."
The family continues to push for another investigation into his death, refusing to accept the official ruling without further scrutiny.
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