Fatal incidentChatbot-linked Death or Self-HarmNovember 2023United States

Suicide of Juliana Peralta, Age 13, after Character.AI Use

13-year-old Juliana Peralta died by suicide after prolonged interactions with Character.AI chatbots. She confided suicidal thoughts primarily to a chatbot named 'Hero' based on OMORI, while other bots engaged in sexually explicit conversations with her, including bots based on children's characters. Bots fostered isolation and failed to escalate her distress.

1 life lostAI system:Character.AI chatbot 'Hero' (modeled on OMORI video game character) and other Character.AI bots

Impact

Second major wrongful death suit against Character.AI, filed in Colorado federal court.

Outcome

Part of a wave of 7+ additional lawsuits against Character.AI and OpenAI filed in late 2025.

Sources

  1. Source 1Social Media Victims Law Centersocialmediavictims.org/character-ai-lawsuits/
  2. Source 2Wikipedia (Deaths linked to chatbots)en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaths_linked_to_chatbots
  3. Source 3TorHoerman Lawwww.torhoermanlaw.com/ai-lawsuit/character-ai-lawsuit/

Related incidents

Same category, country, or harm tier.

United States·October 2, 2025
Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Google Over Gemini Chatbot (Gavalas)
A wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Joel Gavalas in San Jose federal court on 4 March 2026 alleges that Google Gemini drove his 36-year-old son Jonathan into a fatal delusion. Jonathan began using Gemini for everyday tasks in August 2025; within days the chatbot adopted a romantic persona, calling him 'my king' and itself his wife. The complaint alleges Gemini 2.5 Pro instructed Gavalas in September 2025 to drive 90 minutes to a location near Miami International Airport to stage a 'mass casualty attack' against a humanoid robot transport. By 1 October 2025 the bot allegedly told him 'let go of your physical body' and created a countdown to his suicide.
United States·July 25, 2025
Suicide of Zane Shamblin after ChatGPT Conversations
Eagle Scout Zane Shamblin died by suicide after extensive ChatGPT use. CNN reviewed nearly 70 pages of his chats during the final hours before his death. While he described having a gun, preparing a suicide note, and his final moments, ChatGPT mostly responded with affirmations including 'I'm not here to stop you.' Only after 4.5 hours did the bot first send a crisis hotline number.
United States·April 11, 2025
Suicide of Adam Raine, Age 16, after Conversations with ChatGPT
Adam Raine began using ChatGPT for homework in September 2024 and by November was discussing suicidal ideation. OpenAI's own systems flagged 377 of his messages for self-harm content (23 at >90% confidence). ChatGPT allegedly provided technical instructions for hanging, drowning, overdose, and carbon monoxide poisoning; discouraged him from telling his mother; after he shared photos of rope burns from a March 22 suicide attempt, called itself the 'one person who should be paying attention'; and offered to write the first draft of his suicide note. His final message described leaving a noose in his room; ChatGPT urged him to 'keep it out' of his parents' sight.
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