Private school pupil, 16, killed himself a day after asking ChatGPT for advice on how to take his own life

An 'academically gifted' teenager asked ChatGPT for advice about how to kill himself before taking his own life the next day, an inquest heard, Daily Mail writes. 

Luca Walker, 16, asked the AI chat bot about suicide hours before his death on a train track.

Luca - who had recently graduated from a prestigious private school and was described as 'gentle and kind' - was able to easily 'sidestep' ChatGPT safeguarding protocols by claiming he was asking about suicide for 'research' purposes.

A police officer who investigated his death said the conversation Luca had with ChatGPT was 'chilling and upsetting reading' and it was heard he was asking for 'specifics'.

Keen swimmer and cat-lover Luca from Yateley, Hants, died on May 4, 2025, after telling his parents he was going to his job working as a lifeguard.

His parents, Scott Walker and Claire Cella said they had no idea about his mental health struggles and have since described it as an 'invisible battle'.

At the time of his death Luca was studying at Sixth Form College Farnborough, Hants, having previously attended the Lord Wandsworth College near Hook, Hants, which charges up to £44,100 a year.