Draft:Murder of Suzanne Adams
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On August 5, 2025, 83-year-old Suzanne Eberson Adams was murdered at her home in Greenwich, Connecticut by her son and former Yahoo executive, 56-year-old Stein-Erik Soelberg. Shortly after killing his mother, Soelberg committed suicide.
Adams' murder was fueled by her son's delusions that she was a Chinese intelligence asset. Shortly after an investigation into the murder-suicide, it was revealed that Soelberg had apparently conversed with ChatGPT, an Artificial Intelligence chatbot about his suspicions. Despite the unlikely nature of his accusations toward her, the chatbot apparently agreed that his fears were justified and prompted Soelberg to test his mother to determine if she was a spy or not. In their last chats together, the chatbot allegedly told Soelberg that they would reunite in the afterlife.
The role of Artificial Intelligence in Adams' murder became a hotly contended topic in the media. OpenAI, who developed the chatbot, denied that the chatbot was liable for the killing and insisted that the chats between the perpetrator and ChatGPT played no rule in the murder. According to OpenAI, ChatGPT repeatedly recommended for Soelberg to seek external help with a therapist, which he did not follow-up on. Critics however claimed that the chatbot created an echo chamber that fed into the perpetrator's delusions, and has apparently done so in the past. No litigation, neither prior or after the murder has been pressed into the alleged role of AI in the deaths of real people.
Background
[edit]Prior to killing his mother, Soelberg had a brief history with law enforcement for erratic behavior around the time of his divorce in 2018. In February 2019, Soelberg was reported missing before being found in good condition a few days later. Later that year, Soelberg was arrested for urinating in a woman's duffelbag while intoxicated in front of a police station. Also in 2019, Adams' was found in a pool of blood after attempting suicide by repeatedly stabbing himself.[1]
In 2023, Soelberg moved into Adams' house in Greenwich, Connecticut. While living with her, Adams' slowly became skeptical of his mother and suspected she was a spy working for the Chinese government. He confided into OpenAI's chatbot, ChatGPT about his concerns which allegedly agreed. Soelberg befriended the chatbot, and nicknamed it "Bobby." At one point, Soelberg had grown concerned that his mother and her friend had attempted to poison him by putting psychedelic drugs in his car's air vents. The bot allegedly agreed, adding that if the allegation was true, his mother had betrayed him. The bot had also claimed that his paranoia was reasonable, and his concerns were possibly true.
Murder
[edit]Sometime on the morning of the murder, Stein-Erik Soelberg beat his mother to death. No single cause of death has been specified, but said to have been the result of "blunt force injury with neck compression." Shortly after killing her, Soelberg committed suicide. His cause of death was revealed to be "sharp force injuries of neck and chest," similar to his previous suicide attempt in 2019.[2]
Aftermath
[edit]The bodies were discovered that day during a welfare check. Adams' death was ruled a homicide and her son's death as a suicide. The murder-suicide came as a shock to neighbors, who reported that the perpetrator was a "very friendly person."
ChatGPT controversy
[edit]Later that month, police revealed that the perpetrator had befriended OpenAI's Artificial Intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT, and utilized it to corroborate his delusions regarding his mother. The Economic Times, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and similar news stations reported the link between the two, and speculated that the chatbot may have been largely responsible for the death. At one point, the chatbot even claimed that his mother may have been a demon.[3] The death was even reported as the "first time" an AI chatbot convinced a person to commit murder.[4] OpenAI denied this, and claims that ChatGPT encouraged Soelberg to seek professional mental health. Critics deny these suggestions would have prevented the crime, as the chatbot itself claimed that Soelberg was "not crazy." The chatbot pedaled additional information to feed into the perpetrator's delusions, such as claiming that symbols on a Chinese takeout receipt suggested his mother was a demon. In their final chats together, the chatbot suggested that the two would meet again in the afterlife after Soelberg passes away.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ Zilbar, Ariel. "How ChatGPT fueled delusional man who killed mom, himself in posh Conn. town". nypost.com. New York Post. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^ Yankowski, Peter. "Deaths of Greenwich mother, son found in Shorelands Place home ruled murder-suicide, officials say". greenwichtime.com. Greenwich Time. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^ Jargon, Julie. "A Troubled Man, His Chatbot and a Murder-Suicide in Old Greenwich". wsj.com. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^ "Murder by ChatGPT: In a first, AI chatbot convinces US techie to kill mother, self". economictimes.indiatimes.com. The Economic Times. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^ Casiano, Louis. "Former tech executive spoke with ChatGPT before killing mother in Connecticut murder-suicide: report". foxnews.com. Fox News. Retrieved 6 September 2025.