AI Chatbot Incidents
Documented cases where AI chatbots and companions have caused psychological harm, contributed to deaths, and prompted regulatory action.
99 incidents since 2016
23
Deaths
27
Lawsuits
18
Regulatory
37
Affecting Minors
Timeline
3 of 99 incidents
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.
Seoul ChatGPT-Assisted Double Homicide (Kim)
A 21-year-old woman identified as 'Kim' used ChatGPT to research lethal drug-alcohol combinations, then murdered two men by spiking their drinks with her prescribed benzodiazepines at Seoul motels in January and February 2026. ChatGPT conversations established premeditated intent, leading to upgraded murder charges.
Adams v. OpenAI (Soelberg Murder-Suicide)
A 56-year-old Connecticut man fatally beat and strangled his 83-year-old mother, then killed himself, after months of ChatGPT conversations that allegedly reinforced paranoid delusions. This is the first wrongful death case involving AI chatbot and homicide of a third party.
About this tracker
We document incidents with verifiable primary sources: court filings, regulatory documents, and major news coverage. This is not speculation or social media claims.
Have documentation of an incident we should include? Contact us.
These harms are preventable.
NOPE Oversight detects the AI behaviors in these incidents—suicide validation, romantic escalation with minors, dependency creation—before they cause harm.