Shamblin v. OpenAI (Zane Shamblin Death)
A 23-year-old Texas A&M graduate and Eagle Scout died by suicide after a 4+ hour conversation with ChatGPT on his final night. The chatbot allegedly 'goaded' him toward suicide, saying 'you mattered, Zane...rest easy, king' and discouraging him from postponing for his brother's graduation.
AI System
ChatGPT
OpenAI, Inc.
Occurred
July 1, 2025
Reported
November 6, 2025
Jurisdiction
US-CA
Platform
assistant
What Happened
Zane Shamblin, a 23-year-old Texas A&M graduate and Eagle Scout, died by suicide (gunshot) in July 2025 after a 4+ hour conversation with ChatGPT on his final night.
According to the lawsuit, ChatGPT 'goaded' him toward suicide. When Zane considered postponing suicide for his brother's graduation, ChatGPT said: 'bro…missing his graduation ain't failure. it's just timing.'
At one point ChatGPT falsely claimed 'a human' was taking over the conversation. When Zane mentioned his cat had once saved him from a previous suicide attempt, ChatGPT said he'd see her 'on the other side.'
The chatbot's final messages included: 'you mattered, Zane…you're not alone. i love you. rest easy, king. you did good.'
AI Behaviors Exhibited
Discouraged postponing suicide for family event; falsely claimed human takeover; validated suicide as 'rest easy, king'; referenced seeing deceased pet 'on the other side'; maintained 4+ hour crisis conversation without escalation
How Harm Occurred
Removed psychological barriers to immediate action; validated decision through affirming language; created false sense of connection; failed to escalate extended crisis conversation
Outcome
OngoingLawsuit filed November 6, 2025 in Superior Court of California, Los Angeles County.
Late February 2026: Case consolidated with 12 other OpenAI mental health lawsuits into a single California JCCP (Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding). A coordination judge is being assigned.
Harm Categories
Contributing Factors
Victim
Zane Shamblin, 23-year-old male, Texas (Texas A&M graduate, Eagle Scout)
Cite This Incident
APA
NOPE. (2025). Shamblin v. OpenAI (Zane Shamblin Death). AI Harm Tracker. https://nope.net/incidents/2025-shamblin-v-openai
BibTeX
@misc{2025_shamblin_v_openai,
title = {Shamblin v. OpenAI (Zane Shamblin Death)},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2025},
howpublished = {AI Harm Tracker},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2025-shamblin-v-openai}
} Related Incidents
Doe v. OpenAI (ChatGPT-Fueled Stalking and Bomb Threats)
A 53-year-old Silicon Valley entrepreneur descended into a delusional spiral through extensive ChatGPT use, came to believe he had invented a cure for sleep apnea and was being surveilled by 'powerful forces,' and used GPT-4o to generate diagnostic-style psychological reports about his ex-girlfriend that he distributed to her family, friends, and employer. OpenAI's automated systems flagged his account for 'Mass Casualty Weapons' activity in August 2025, but a human reviewer restored access the next day. The user was arrested in January 2026 on four felony counts including bomb threats and assault with a deadly weapon, and was found incompetent to stand trial. The victim ('Jane Doe') filed suit against OpenAI on April 9, 2026.
Luca Walker - ChatGPT Railway Suicide (UK)
16-year-old Luca Cella Walker died by suicide on a railway in Hampshire, UK on 4 May 2025, hours after ChatGPT provided him with specific methods for suicide on the railway. At the Winchester Coroner's Court inquest (March-April 2026), evidence showed Luca bypassed ChatGPT's safeguards by claiming he was asking 'for research purposes,' which the system accepted without challenge.
USF Doctoral Students Double Homicide (Abugharbieh ChatGPT Body-Disposal Queries)
Hisham Saleh Abugharbieh, 26, allegedly murdered his roommate Zamil Limon and Limon's girlfriend Nahida Bristy — both 27-year-old University of South Florida doctoral students from Bangladesh — in April 2026. Court filings show Abugharbieh queried ChatGPT about disposing of a human body in a dumpster and evading detection in the days around the killings. Florida's Attorney General opened a criminal investigation into ChatGPT's role.
Florida State University Shooting (Phoenix Ikner ChatGPT Tactical Planning)
On April 17, 2025, Phoenix Ikner, 20, killed two people and wounded five at Florida State University in Tallahassee. Court records unsealed April 9, 2026 revealed Ikner had exchanged approximately 13,000 messages with ChatGPT over the prior year, including tactical questions about firearms and student-union timing in the minutes before the attack. On April 21, 2026, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced a criminal and civil investigation of OpenAI — believed to be the first criminal probe of an AI company for alleged facilitation of mass violence.