Bengaluru Triple Murder: AI Chatbot Used to Plan Killings, Police Seek Chat History

The Bengaluru Police have approached the parent company of an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot seeking the prime accused's chat history after investigators found he allegedly relied on the tool for nearly six months to plan the murder of three members of his live-in partner's family. Police believe the chats could provide crucial digital evidence to corroborate his confession and establish premeditation in the case.

The murders took place on June 22 at an apartment in Seegehalli under the K R Puram Police Station limits, where Somasundar (52), his wife Muthulaxmi (48) and their younger daughter Supriya (19) were found stabbed to death. Their elder daughter Shwetha (24) and her live-in partner Kenneth (25) were later arrested separately from Puducherry after allegedly fleeing Bengaluru.

Police said the motive stemmed from financial disputes and strained family relations. Investigators alleged Shwetha had borrowed Rs 50 lakh from her mother to help Kenneth establish a cloud kitchen business, but the money was exhausted, leaving the couple worried about repayment.

According to investigators, Kenneth consulted the AI chatbot on how to kill victims, blind them, remove bloodstains, dispose of bodies, package and transport the bodies, and whether a furnace built for the proposed cloud kitchen could be repurposed to incinerate them. Officials described the chatbot as having functioned almost like an "accomplice", while clarifying that the AI tool itself is not legally an accused. Psychological assessments also indicated Kenneth suffered from severe social isolation, with investigators linking his dependence on the chatbot to the absence of meaningful human interaction.

After the killings, the accused allegedly stole cash and silver ornaments before fleeing to Puducherry. In his dying declaration, Somasundar identified his daughter and Kenneth as the attackers and urged police to rescue his wife and younger daughter before succumbing to his injuries.