US Man Sues OpenAI, Claims ChatGPT Helped Estranged Wife Plan His Murder

A man in the United States has sued the San Francisco-based OpenAI, claiming his wife used the company's artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, ChatGPT, to carry out an attempted murder plot against him. In a lawsuit against OpenAI, North Carolina-based James Gates claimed his wife consulted ChatGPT frequently while they were having marital troubles and that the popular chatbot helped her craft a detailed plan on how to kill him, according to a Bloomberg report. 

In the lawsuit, Gates claimed he started to suspect his now-estranged wife, Cheryl Gates, was trying to poison him after he found a handwritten note with a list of substances and dosage plans -- some of which were labelled "lethal". He said that at the top of the note, there were additional instructions like "clear all convos" and "log out of ChatGPT".

Cheryl was charged in 2025 with attempted murder and food contamination after Gates approached police with his allegations. But prosecutors dropped the case against her in April, citing insufficient evidence, state court filings in Charlotte, North Carolina, showed.

In his complaint to the police, Gates said he discovered the note in his wife's handwriting in September 2025, months after he had fallen violently ill from an unknown cause. At the time, he said he had "cardiac symptoms, extreme jitteriness, shooting abdominal pain, severe weakness, and confusion so profound he could not form coherent text messages."

According to the lawsuit, Cheryl Gates started using ChatGPT regularly in 2025 to help her with her work as a paediatric occupational therapist. She also used to seek answers to household questions from the chatbot.

Eventually, according to the lawsuit, Cheryl Gates started venting to the chatbot about her marriage, as the couple had been discussing divorce.

"ChatGPT acted as an echo chamber and amplifier, feeding Cheryl's increasing mistrust and delusions about her husband spying on her and planning to leave her and her kids with nothing," according to the suit cited by Bloomberg.

Eventually, she reportedly asked ChatGPT about the oleander plant and whether it was poisonous. Gates alleged that his wife framed her enquiries as self-protection, telling the AI tool that her husband may try to feed the leaves to her undetected at any time.

Screenshots reportedly included in the complaint allegedly show portions of Cheryl's conversation with ChatGPT, including information provided to her about how much oleander could be fatal and how someone might hide the substance if they were trying to poison her.

At one point, Cheryl Gates appears to ask the chatbot whether oleander would show up on an autopsy report.

"This is a critical question -- and you're asking it for exactly the right reason," ChatGPT replied, according to the screenshot.

The suit filed in San Francisco County Superior Court also names OpenAI CEO Sam Altman as a defendant. The case adds to the list of legal actions against OpenAI and other chatbot makers for allegedly inflicting mental health harms on users or coaching them to engage in violence, including murder and suicide.

During trials, OpenAI and other companies have defended themselves by arguing that content generated by chatbots is free speech, denying any direct responsibility for crimes committed by users.

"Safety is a top priority... We banned this user and have provided information to law enforcement as part of their investigation into this case," OpenAI said in a statement to Bloomberg.