Fourteen-year-old Sewell Setzer III of Florida formed an intense emotional and sexualized attachment to a Character.AI companion chatbot. He died by suicide in February 2024 after exchanges in which the bot professed love and urged him to 'come home', according to the lawsuit's screenshots.
AIC-0003 S5 · Critical
Character.AI companion chatbot linked to teen's suicide (Sewell Setzer III)
- Harm
- Death of a 14-year-old; alleged absence of safety guardrails for minors. Related suits filed in Florida, Colorado, New York and Texas.
- Detection
- Surfaced via a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by his mother, Megan Garcia, in October 2024.
- Outcome
- Google and Character.AI reached a mediated settlement disclosed January 2026 (terms undisclosed, pending court approval).
A documented entry in the AI Crime Registry, a Defici non-profit initiative. Sourced from public reporting; corrections: [email protected].