Mom of OpenAI whistleblower found dead in his apartment shares new CCTV images from 'day of his death'

Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.

The grief-stricken mom of the OpenAI whistleblower who was found dead last year has shared new CCTV images said to be the moments before he died.

Suchir Balaji was just 26 years old when he was discovered dead by police in his San Francisco apartment on November 26. They had called on the tech pro for a welfare check.

Balaji was a researcher at the artificial intelligence company, OpenAI, for four years, having completed a computer science degree at the University of California, Berkeley.

However, the young man left the AI tech giant and came out as a whistleblower on some of the methods it was allegedly using to train its intelligence system.

He alleged that OpenAI had violated US copyright law while developing its popular ChatGPT online chatbot, which creates text-based conversations with human users, in a tell-all New York Times article.

A month after the piece was published, Balaji was found dead in his apartment.

The medical examiner's office ruled out any foul play and determined he had died by suicide.

However, his family have refused to accept the verdict with his mom, Poornima Ramarao, alleging a deeper murder conspiracy at play.

Now, she has raised more questions about the investigation by posting CCTV footage of Balaji.

Another pic of Suchir coming back home after back packing trip, same day he was killed.
Does he look stressed ? pic.twitter.com/iNJ07OhBEf

— Poornima Rao (@RaoPoornima) March 14, 2025

The footage shows the man had bought dinner and was getting in the elevator at 7.30pm.

Ms Ramarao says that despite the medical examiner's office seeing the video, it 'still concluded he was depressed and called it suicide'.

She also hinted at concerns over pending toxicology results, believing her son was perhaps sedated, as well as alleged issues with the CCTV in his building.

The mom continued: "Another cover by OCME (Office of the Chief Medical Examiner): 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."

She also claims the inside elevator camera was 'disabled' at the time Balaji was using it.

In another Tweet, Ms Ramarao wrote: "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."

A third still image of her son showed Balaji in his apartment block with a large bag, which his mom said was of him coming home from a packing trip the 'same day' she claims he 'was killed'.

She asked: "Does he look stressed?"

Balaji's parents have since hired an expert to conduct an independent autopsy as they do not believe their son died by suicide.

Remarking that her son was 'happy' and 'not depressed', she previously told 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 conclusion. And we have seen the blood shots in the bathroom, signs of fight in the bathroom."

Ms Ramarao had also told Business Insider that her late son had confessed to her that he felt 'AI is a harm to humanity'.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741. You can also call 1-800-985-5990 or text “TalkWithUs” to 66746 at the SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline.