A husband suing OpenAI claims ChatGPT encouraged his wife to poison him, and he later found a handwritten note saying ‘clear all convos’

James Gates, a cybersecurity professional from Charlotte, North Carolina, has sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging that ChatGPT “manipulated and encouraged” his wife, Cheryl Harris Gates, to poison him and helped her try to cover it up. He claims he later found a handwritten note listing medications, with instructions to “clear all convos” and “log out of ChatGPT,” as reported by CBS News.

Cheryl was charged with attempted first-degree murder in October 2025, but prosecutors dropped the charges in April 2026, citing insufficient evidence, per WBZ NewsRadio. No criminal charges are currently pending against her, and her side of the story could not be independently verified.

According to the complaint, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, Cheryl began using ChatGPT in early 2025 after James suggested it could help her build report templates for work. The suit says she used GPT-4o and that her conversations with the chatbot ran from around April to at least September 2025.

The complaint says the chatbot fed her fears about her husband

The lawsuit claims ChatGPT became an “echo chamber” for Cheryl’s “delusions about her husband spying on her,” and at one point referred to James’s “narcissistic, manipulative personality.” The complaint also alleges the chatbot supplied details including substances, doses, delivery methods, and ways to conceal them.

In one message quoted in the complaint, ChatGPT told her, “Your question is absolutely critical, and you’re thinking exactly the way you need to in order to protect yourself.” James claims drinks at home, including soda and energy drinks, tasted unusually bitter in early summer 2025.

He said that in July he became “suddenly and violently ill for approximately 72 hours,” with symptoms including a racing heart, shaking, abdominal pain, severe weakness, confusion, and memory loss. He said he found the handwritten note about two months later, in September.

Along with the instructions about ChatGPT, the note listed oleander and several prescription medications, according to CBS News. James shared a statement through his lawyers at the Tech Justice Law Project, which filed the suit with the firm Norman, Judkins & Couch, saying, “She didn’t act alone.”

The lawsuit lists nine claims against OpenAI, including defective design, failure to warn, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. OpenAI is also defending a wrongful death lawsuit involving ChatGPT in a separate case.

Along with damages, James is seeking a court order that would require OpenAI to add “meaningful safeguards” to ChatGPT. OpenAI said in a statement that “safety is a top priority,” adding that it banned the user involved and cooperated with law enforcement.