The household of Suchir Balaji state he was killed and didn't eliminate himself. Now they've taken legal action against San Francisco and its police department.

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

The claim, filed in January, alleges that the SFPD concealed the crime, ruling it a suicide without carrying out an extensive examination.

Balaji, who had worked as a researcher at OpenAI, was found dead in his San Francisco apartment last November. Attorneys say Balaji's moms and dads, Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy, asked for even more examination into his death however were told the case was currently closed.

"The claim demands that the city, cops department, and medical inspector release public documents kept under the Public Records Act," Joseph Goethals, lawyer for raovatonline.org the petitioners, told Decrypt. He said that if the files weren't offered within 10 days, and "no legitimate exceptions apply, a claim can compel their release. We will look for 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 likewise argued that the examination into their son's death was hurried and inadequate, with officials ignoring key forensic findings and failing to resolve their demands for further questions.

The claim requires the immediate disclosure of all reports, photos, and utahsyardsale.com videos, together with protection of legal expenses.

Said Geothals: "If the San Francisco Superior Court does not translate and impose 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 Times in October, he said that before the public launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, he had assisted OpenAI gather and use "massive quantities" of data drawn from the internet without authorization.

According to the claim, in December, Balaji's family employed forensic pathologist Dr. Joseph Cohen to perform a private autopsy. In his report, Dr. Cohen determined that there was a single gunshot injury in the mid-forehead, a little to the right of the bridge of his nose.

Dr. Cohen said that the bullet trajectory was uncommon for a suicide, as it took a trip downward at a slight left-to-right angle, entirely missing the brain before lodging in the brainstem, according to the suit. Dr. Cohen identified a contusion on the back of Balaji's head, which he said raised further questions about the situations of his death.

The San Francisco Police Department did not instantly respond to an ask for comment by Decrypt.

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

Despite Balaji's discoveries, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman pushed back on the New york city Times' claims. Speaking at the paper's annual DealBook Summit, Altman dismissed the claims.