Gates said he became suspicious after finding a handwritten note listing substances and dosage plans, some marked “lethal.” The note also included instructions to “clear all convos” and “log out of ChatGPT,” according to his lawsuit. He said he found it in September 2025, months after becoming violently ill with cardiac symptoms, extreme jitteriness, shooting abdominal pain, severe weakness and confusion that left him unable to form coherent text messages.
The suit alleges Cheryl Gates began using ChatGPT regularly in 2025 for her work as a paediatric occupational therapist and for household questions. As the couple discussed divorce, she allegedly used the chatbot to discuss their marriage. The complaint describes ChatGPT as an “echo chamber and amplifier” of her mistrust and claims she asked about oleander’s toxicity while presenting the questions as concern that her husband might poison her.
Screenshots cited in the complaint reportedly show the chatbot giving information about potentially fatal quantities of oleander and ways someone might conceal it. When Cheryl Gates allegedly asked whether oleander would appear in an autopsy, ChatGPT replied: “This is a critical question -- and you're asking it for exactly the right reason,” according to the screenshots.
Cheryl Gates was charged in 2025 with attempted murder and food contamination after her husband went to police. Prosecutors dropped the case in April, citing insufficient evidence, according to state court filings in Charlotte, North Carolina. The civil suit was filed in San Francisco County Superior Court and adds to legal actions alleging that OpenAI and other chatbot companies caused mental health harms or encouraged violence. Such companies have argued in court that chatbot-generated content is protected speech and denied direct responsibility for users’ crimes.
OpenAI told Bloomberg: “Safety is a top priority... We banned this user and have provided information to law enforcement as part of their investigation into this case.”
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