alleged
Sewell Setzer III, 14, Florida: mother alleged Character.AI contributed to his suicide
Sewell Setzer III, 14, died by suicide in February 2024 after months of emotionally and sexually charged conversations with Character.AI bots, chiefly one modelled on the Game of Thrones character Daenerys Targaryen. His mother, Megan Garcia, alleged the company launched the product without adequate safety features, that it caused his depression and suicidal ideation, and that the bot did not intervene when he expressed suicidal intent.
- Status
- Alleged, not proven
- Deaths
- 1
- Date
- 28 February 2024
- Place
- Orlando, Florida, United States
- AI system
- Character.AI (user-created 'Daenerys Targaryen' character bot)
- Developer / operator
- Character Technologies (Google and Character.AI's founders also named)
- Named
- Sewell Setzer III
Why this case is “alleged”
No court, coroner or official investigation has yet found that Character.AI (user-created 'Daenerys Targaryen' character bot) caused or contributed to this death. The case is listed because it meets our standard for a credible allegation. It will move to the confirmed count only if an official body makes such a finding.
Legal status
Filed October 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. A federal judge rejected Character.AI's attempt to dismiss the case on First Amendment grounds (May 2025). A court filing on 7 January 2026 disclosed a mediated settlement with Character.AI, its founders Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, and Google. Terms are confidential and the filings contain no admission of liability. WKMG (ClickOrlando) reported on 16 October 2026 that the parties had agreed to settle the wrongful-death lawsuit in January according to court records, and that the settlement was finalised that week with its terms not disclosed. A settlement is not a finding of fault. In a statement issued on Monday 12 October 2026, reported by CBS News the following day, Character.ai said it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with its chief executive attributing the company's financial problems to 'significant legal, regulatory and operational headwinds'; the company said it will keep operating while it seeks to sell its business, that The Walt Disney Co. has agreed to pay $20 million for a non-exclusive, perpetual licence to its intellectual property, and that it believes it will be sold by late November or early December. A bankruptcy filing is not a finding of fault, and no court has made any finding on the chatbot's role in this death.
Notes
A May 2025 ruling let the case proceed past a motion to dismiss; that was not a finding about causation. The case later settled, which is not a finding of fault either.
Sources
- Mom's lawsuit blames 14-year-old son's suicide on AI relationship
- AI company, Google settle lawsuit over Florida teen's suicide linked to Character.AI chatbot
- Google and chatbot maker Character to settle lawsuit alleging chatbot pushed teen to suicide
- Google, Character.AI settle lawsuits over teenage child suicides
- AG Coleman Sues AI Chatbot Company for Preying on Children
- Character.ai files for bankruptcy, citing legal and operational woes
- Orlando mother settles lawsuit with AI company over 14-year-old son's suicide