Massachusetts teen charged with killing mother and brother; investigators examine his ChatGPT use

A 17-year-old Massachusetts teenager, Arjun Aravind, is being held without bail after being accused of killing his 45-year-old mother, Sudha Venkatesan, and his 14-year-old brother, Siddharth Aravind. He appeared in Concord district court on Thursday, where a not-guilty plea was entered to murder and several related charges.

The case came to light after the teen's tutor arrived at the family home Tuesday for a scheduled session but could not reach anyone inside. The boys' father, who had spoken to his wife earlier that morning before leaving for work, then alerted police. Officers arrived and, shortly after 6:30pm, found both victims dead — Siddharth's body on the first floor and his mother's in the basement.

As the investigation unfolded, authorities said Arjun had recently shown troubling behavior, including using the internet and ChatGPT to research and write fantasy stories about killing his family. Middlesex county district attorney Marian Ryan said the teen had been crafting gothic-style fiction with the chatbot, inventing characters and posing hypothetical questions that appeared to relate to threats against his relatives.

Official causes of death have not yet been confirmed, but prosecutor Suzanne Wiseman said evidence pointed to a violent struggle, with signs that blunt force trauma had been used against both victims.

By the time the bodies were found, Arjun and his mother's green 2014 Honda Accord were both missing from the home. The search shifted about 13 miles away to Wayland after a car alarm went off overnight in a parking lot. Police linked the vehicle to the case and arrested Arjun inside it at around 3:40am, recovering items they say connect it to the crime scene.

Arjun faces two counts of murder, assault and battery charges related to family members, and charges of unauthorized vehicle use and motor vehicle theft. The Guardian said it had contacted OpenAI, ChatGPT's parent company, for comment.

This is not the first time a chatbot has been tied to a violent crime — earlier this year, Florida's attorney general opened an investigation into whether ChatGPT influenced a man accused of a mass shooting in the state last year.