A 17-year-old Massachusetts boy is being held without bail after prosecutors said he killed his mother and younger brother, in a case investigators say involved the teenager's use of ChatGPT to research fictionalized scenarios about harming his family. Arjun Aravind entered a not-guilty plea on Thursday during his arraignment in Concord District Court on murder charges and several related counts.
Authorities allege that Aravind killed his mother, 45-year-old Sudha Venkatesan, and his 14-year-old brother, Siddharth Aravind, inside the family's home in Acton, Massachusetts, on Tuesday. According to the Middlesex County district attorney, the boys' father last saw his wife when he left for work at around 7 a.m. that day, before the alleged killings are believed to have taken place.
How were the victims found?
The discovery began when a tutor arrived for a scheduled session at the family's home on Martha Lane and could not reach anyone inside, prompting concern that led to a welfare check. The father, unable to reach his wife after leaving for work, contacted police, and officers arrived at the residence to find both victims dead shortly after 6:30 p.m. Siddharth's body was located on the first floor of the home, while his mother's body was found in the basement.
Prosecutors described the scene as showing signs of a violent confrontation. Prosecutor Suzanne Wiseman told the court that officials had not yet determined the official cause of death but said evidence pointed to blunt force trauma affecting both victims.
