Campbell Hutcheson's Shortform

The Suchir Balaji Autopsy Report came out recently

Overall, I think it’s quite compelling evidence it was a suicide.

The points against it being suicide are:

1. The somewhat awkward angle of the gun
2. The lack of gunpowder on the skin surrounding the wound
3. The lack of stippling around the wound
4. Some small potential inconsistencies between parent's account and police report (such as the claim by parents that father talked to Suchir by phone on Friday)
5. Had a project to live for as a whistleblower against OpenAI
6. Suchir’s family insists he wasn’t suicidal; he seemed overall to be living a good life

The points for it are:

1. No signs of forced entry or struggle
2. The gun was purchased by and registered to Suchir
3. There was gunpowder residue on Suchir's hands and Suchir's DNA was on the gun
4. The door to his apartment was locked
5. Internet searches on his computer related to “total gray matter volume” and “white matter” in brain
6. The toxicology report shows he was drunk
7. The base-rate of suicide is much higher than homicide
8. Theories about who would have a motivation to kill him seem far-fetched to me; OpenAI is getting much worse press form the suicide than they likely would have if he hadn’t killed himself

General notes summarizing the report:

• Suchir was found by the police on Tuesday, 11/26/24, at his apartment at 188 Buchanan Street Apartment #409; as part of a wellness check (requested by his mother)
• Apartment was locked with a deadbolt, no signs of forced entry to the apartment or signs of struggle within the apartment; desktop computer with searchers for "total gray matter volume" and "white matter"; key for apartment was found in unit
• Last communicated with his mother via text on Friday, 11/22/2024 (the parents in interviews have claimed that their last contact with him was when he talked with his father by phone on Friday night but the police report doesn’t mention this)
• Death was from gunshot wound to the head; entry point at the glabella of the forehead (between the eyes), centered approximately 13 cm below the top of the head and 0.5 cm right of the anterior midline
• Bullet traveled down and back and into the neck, where it was recovered; soot and unburned gunpowder was not readily visible on the skin, no gunpowder stippling was found around the wound
• Glock pistol found at scene; 4 live rounds, 1 spent casing; pistol was purchased and registered by Suchir on 01/04/2024; gunpowder residue was found on both of Suchir’s hands; Suchir's DNA was found on the pistol; markings on the bullet recovered during examination matched unique striations left by the pistol's barrel
• Toxicology report showed .178 BAC level (very intoxicated); blood Amphetamine levels between 35 ng/mL and 39 ng/mL (not very notable); GHB levels between 54,000 ng/mL and 67,000 ng/mL (apparently this is within normal ranges or how much buildup of GHB you might naturally expect given the body had been decaying for a few days)
• Decomposition of the body was moderate when found.