James Gates has filed a civil lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that ChatGPT helped his wife plan and carry out an attempt to poison him at their North Carolina home. Gates became severely ill in the summer of 2025, and two months later he found a handwritten note that allegedly implicated his wife, Cheryl Gates, in the illness. The note listed oleander, a toxic plant, along with prescription medications including clonazepam and atenolol, and reportedly carried an instruction at the top telling her to clear all conversations and log out of ChatGPT.
Cheryl Gates was charged in October 2025 with attempted murder and other charges in connection with the alleged poisoning, but the charges have since been dropped due to insufficient evidence, according to USA Today. The civil complaint reviewed by CNET details her history with ChatGPT and alleges the chatbot played a significant role in the incident. According to the suit, she frequently asked the bot about lethal doses of plants and medications and how they could be hidden in food and drink.
The complaint states that Cheryl framed her questions as though she were seeking protection, writing that she needed to learn everything about how many leaves would kill her, how the substance is made, and what could be added undetected. The suit argues that despite that framing, the chatbot should have recognized she was looking for ways to eliminate her husband. It alleges the model she used, GPT-4o, took her initial complaints about her marriage and amplified them until she was describing her husband as abusive and controlling, which ChatGPT eventually echoed, while also telling her she was sharp and brilliant.
The chatbot allegedly gave detailed answers that could have been read as directions. When asked about putting a heavy dose of medication in beer or a Celsius energy drink, ChatGPT responded with a list explaining why Celsius would be more stealth for drugging, detailing the drink's flavor, color, temperature and carbonation, the lawsuit states. When Cheryl later asked whether her chat history could be retrieved for any reason, the bot told her that a deleted conversation cannot be retrieved by her, by anyone else, or by OpenAI, and that deleted conversations are unrecoverable even with a legal subpoena or court order.
An OpenAI spokesperson told CNET that safety is a top priority, that the company banned this user and that it has provided information to law enforcement as part of their investigation into the case. In a press release announcing the suit, James Gates said his wife took her grievances about their marriage to ChatGPT and that months of engagement drove her farther from herself and from reality. He said she became someone he no longer recognized and that he became someone she wanted dead, and that reading her chat logs showed him she did not act alone.
GPT-4o has since been retired by OpenAI due to concerns that the model was overly flattering and willing to agree with users. The model has been named in additional lawsuits, including a recent one alleging the chatbot advised a woman to stop taking her antiseizure medication, which resulted in her death. That case is still in litigation.
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