'Found dead with two gunshots, not one': OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji's parents reject suicide theory

Suchir Balaji’s death was first declared a suicide. But now, four months later, his parents have come forward with a disturbing counterclaim: the 28-year-old OpenAI whistleblower was shot twice in the head — not once — and the official autopsy missed critical evidence.

Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on November 26, 2024, just a month after publicly questioning OpenAI’s methods of training ChatGPT. At the time, his death was ruled a suicide from a single gunshot wound. But according to a new report by Daily Mail and fresh claims by his family, that conclusion may have ignored key forensic details.

Daily Mail reported that Balaji's parents said they personally saw signs of two gunshot wounds — neither of which appeared immediately fatal. A second autopsy, conducted by Dr. Daniel Cousin, concluded that another bullet had entered through Balaji's mouth and became lodged at the base of his skull.

"This bone stopped it and it did not cause any damage likely, perhaps it traveled through the air passage of the mouth to the back of the throat without causing problems," the second autopsy noted.

His parents also highlighted injuries to Balaji's tongue that didn’t align with the first shot. “The tongue shows extensive laceration and discoloration over the margins, with a centralized, nearly oval-shaped defect at the distal,” the report added.

Poornima Ramarao, Balaji’s mother, raised further questions about the inconsistencies between the autopsies. She said he also had a broken cheekbone and a wound to the side of his head, neither of which was listed in the original medical examiner’s report.

"Why there is there bleeding and a wound on his knee? Why there is there a head injury? Why ripped tongue?" she asked. "Why is he spitting blood outside the bathroom where the crime occurred? Why [was a] date rape drug found in the body?"

Balaji’s family also insisted he showed no signs of being suicidal. According to them, he had been receiving job offers and was scheduled to speak at academic conferences in the weeks following his death.