OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji’s mom shares image from day of his death, questions CCTV failure, toxicology report

The death of OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji is back in the spotlight. San Francisco’s chief medical examiner and police on February 15 had concluded that Suchir Balaji’s death was a suicide after he was found dead in his apartment on November 26 last year. 

However, his mother, Poornima Rao, has constantly disputed this, alleging a murder conspiracy. 

Poornima Rao has once again raised several questions about the investigation, taking to X to point out inconsistencies and the use of sedatives. 

Sharing a picture of Suchir Balaji from the day of the incident, Poornima Rao claimed that despite viewing the footage, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) concluded that her son was depressed and ruled his death a suicide.

“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 [sic],” added Rao in her post.

In another post on the microblogging platform, she highlighted suspicious activity with the CCTV cameras in Suchir Balaji’s garage and neighbouring buildings.

“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 [sic],” alleged Rao.

Poornima Rao also shared a post from X user Mia Stretch, who supported her claims. Mia Stretch posted, “Suchir DID NOT Take his own Life! Suchir was not depressed—utterly the opposite! He was a fearless force, brimming with fierce determination, unshakable joy, and a blazing vigor, pouring every ounce of his radiant spirit into a relentless pursuit of justice. 🙏[sic].”

What did the autopsy reveal?

The autopsy report supported the earlier police investigation, which found “no evidence of foul play,” according to San Francisco Police Department Officer Robert Rueca.

According to a letter from the San Francisco Police Department and the OCME, Suchir Balaji took his own life, and a gunshot wound was found on his head, according to a report by Fortune. The OCME found no evidence to suggest anything other than a suicide by a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

The former OpenAI researcher had alcohol and amphetamine in his system at the time of his death. Investigators also discovered he had been searching for information on brain anatomy on his computer. 

Gunshot residue was found on both of his hands, and his DNA was found on a pistol located under his leg. Documents at the scene confirmed that Suchir Balaji was the gun’s owner. According to the report, ballistics tests later confirmed that the pistol was the one used in his death, as reported by sfexaminer.com.

San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott and David Serrano Sewell, the executive director of the medical examiner’s office, stated in the letter, as reported by sfexaminer.com, “Based on the information reviewed, there is insufficient evidence to conclude Mr. Balaji’s death was a homicide.”

What did Suchir Balaj’s mother, Poornima Rao, say?

However, Poornima Rao, the mother of the OpenAI researcher Suchi Balaji, raised concerns about the investigation conducted by the San Francisco Police Department, which ruled her son’s death a suicide. Alleging that her son was murdered and Suchir’s apartment was ransacked, she demanded an FBI investigation.