Indian teenager charged with murdering mother, brother in US; asked ChatGPT ‘how to kill family’
An Indian-origin teenager has been charged in Massachusetts, the United States (US), for murdering his younger brother and mother, said officials on Wednesday (local time). The teenager has been identified as 17-year-old Arjun Aravind, who is a resident of Acton.
He has been charged with two counts of murder, two counts of assault and battery on a household or family member, two counts of assault and battery, use of a vehicle without authority, and theft of a motor vehicle over the killing of his mother, Sudha Venkatesan (45), and brother, Siddharth Aravind (14).
According to authorities, the crime was committed on Tuesday, with Arjun fleeing from the scene in his mother’s vehicle after the incident. They said Arjun’s father had contacted the police after he was unable to reach out to his family.
When police arrived at the family’s Martha Lane home in Acton, around 48 km from Boston, they found Siddharth on the first floor, while Sudha was in a finished basement. They were suffering from “obvious trauma” when they were found, the police said in a statement.Â
Did Arjun use ChatGPT to kill family?
Authorities believe that Arjun, a student at Acton-Boxboro Regional High School, used ChatGPT to ask questions about how to kill his family. He would often create characters and ask such questions, they said, adding that further investigation is underway.
His LinkedIn profile states that he has “interests in technology, business, finance and marketing”, and has knowledge about Java, C++, Python and machine learning.
“Arjun had recently been demonstrating some concerning behaviour, including using the internet and ChatGPT to make searches for theoretical ideas or fantasy stories of the killing of his family,” Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan was quoted as saying by MetroWest Daily News. “He was engaged in the use of ChatGPT creating fantasy stories, kind of a graphic novel kind of story, asking questions, creating characters, asking questions about how to kill his family.”
Arjun, who was held on Wednesday, will now be arraigned in Lowell Juvenile Court. He will be arraigned on that charge and the related assault charges in Concord District Court later.
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