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A Massachusetts teenager used a laptop and a knife to beat his mother and brother to death, hours after he used ChatGPT to search “for theoretical ideas or fantasy stories regarding the killing of his family,” prosecutors said Thursday.
Arjun Aravind, 17, of the affluent Boston suburb of Acton, was charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of Sudha Venkatesan, 45, and Siddharth Aravind, 14, according to a criminal complaint filed in Concord.
He also faces assault and battery charges, accused of using “a dangerous weapon, a Laptop,” to attack his two victims, the complaint says.
Investigators said that “a heavily damaged bloody laptop computer was found consistent with it being used during the assault,” according to the complaint. Police also recovered what appeared to be a knife that was used in the attack: “A bent utensil, possibly a knife with an orange handle, was also found in the area of the disturbance,” the complaint said.
Aravind had been having “behavioral issues” with “concerning internet activities” — to the point that “the family was hiding knives in the household” to prevent his “having access to them,” according to the complaint.
Acton police officers arrived at the family home on Martha Lane at 6:37 p.m. Tuesday to conduct a welfare check. Aravind’s tutor, who had a 4 p.m. appointment at the home that day, “was unable to make contact with residents upon arrival,” prosecutors said. Shortly afterward, Aravind’s father — who had left for work hours earlier — called police. Officers “found both victims dead inside,” the district attorney said.
Siddharth’s body was found on the first floor; Venkatesan’s was found in the basement. The younger victim was found “with massive trauma to the head” and “lying in a pool of blood,” the complaint said. Venkatesan was found with “heavy trauma” to her head and face, along with “a puncture rod to her stomach consistent with some object being used as a weapon,” according to the document. “As officers cleared the residence, significant biological evidence was observed in and around the bodies,” the probable cause statement said.
Hours before the killings, Aravind had typed into ChatGPT, “wait when Adrian kills parents I could see him luring one to convo in basement as they have always forced him to do but what excuse would he use to take their phone” and “maybe before killing mom Adrian coldly reveals,” according to the complaint.
“The investigation has so far shown that Arjun had recently been demonstrating some concerning behavior, including using the internet and ChatGPT to make searches for theoretical ideas or fantasy stories regarding the killing of his family,” Middlesex County DA Marian Ryan told reporters Wednesday.
A representative for OpenAI, the San Francisco-based developer of ChatGPT, could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.
“He was engaged in the use of ChatGPT in creating fantasy stories, kind of the gothic novel kind of stories, asking questions, creating characters, asking what about this if this happened to that, and they seem to appear to relate to threats to his family,” Ryan added.
It’s unclear which victim was killed first. The suspect’s brother had gone to a recreational facility around 9 a.m. and returned home shortly after noon, Ryan said.
“This is an unspeakable tragedy,” Ryan said. “It is an incredibly dark day. Obviously, an insurmountable tragedy for the dad in this case.”
Aravind and his mother’s car — a 2014 green Honda Accord — were missing from the home when the bodies were discovered. An alarm was tripped at a parking lot about 13 miles away in Wayland early Wednesday. Officers “recognized that license plate, and Arjun was inside that car,” Ryan said. “He was taken into custody by police without incident,” she added.
Aravind was found asleep in the vehicle; officers found bedding and “large amounts of cereal and protein energy bars,” according to the complaint. A person, whose name was redacted from the court document, had been to a nearby supermarket at about 4 p.m. Tuesday and purchased “an enormous” amount of cereal and energy bars.
“This employee reported this purchased was in excess of $2,000 and when questioned, he reported he had plans to sell the items,” according to the complaint.
Local law enforcement had previous contact with the family after Aravind was reported missing the previous year. Acton Police Chief Douglas Sturniolo said that incident was treated as a runaway case and involved no threats of violence.
Defense lawyer Debra DeWit urged the public to reserve judgment.
“My client is distraught and confused,” she told NBC News on Thursday. “It’s a tragedy for everyone.”
Aravind pleaded not guilty Thursday and was ordered held without bail.
Senior Breaking News Reporter
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