OpenAI sued over claim that ChatGPT drafted lethal poisoning plan

James Gates says he started to suspect his wife 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." At the top of the note were additional instructions: "clear all convos" and "log out of chat GPT," according to a lawsuit Gates filed Thursday against OpenAI, the maker of the world's most popular chatbot. Gates claims his wife, Cheryl, consulted ChatGPT frequently while they were having martial troubles and that the chatbot helped her craft a detailed plan on how to kill him.

Legal actions have piled up since 2024 accusing OpenAI and other chatbot makers of inflicting mental health harms on users or coaching them to engage in violence, including murder and suicide. In ongoing lawsuits, OpenAI and other companies have defended themselves by arguing that content generated by chatbots is free speech and not subject to product liability laws. They've also denied that the chatbots are directly responsible for crimes committed by users. "Safety is a top priority," OpenAI said in a statement. "We banned this user and have provided information to law enforcement as part of their investigation into this case."

Cheryl Gates was charged in 2025 with attempted murder and food contamination after her husband reached out to police. But prosecutors dropped the case in April, citing insufficient evidence, according to state court filings in Charlotte, North Carolina. A spokesperson for the Mecklenburg County DA's Office declined to comment. A lawyer for Cheryl Gates did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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

Cheryl Gates started using ChatGPT regularly that year, to help her with her work as a pediatric occupational therapist, as well as for household questions, according to the suit. Eventually, James Gates claims, his wife started to vent to the chatbot about their 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.

Eventually, Cheryl Gates asked ChatGPT about the oleander plant, and whether it was poisonous, according to the suit. She framed her inquiries as self protection, telling the AI tool that her husband may try to feed the leaves to her undetected at any time, James Gates alleges. Screenshots 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.