Overview
- Luca Walker’s death was recorded as suicide at Winchester Coroner’s Court, where police said digital forensics showed he used ChatGPT around 12:30 a.m. before his May 2025 death to ask about using the railway to end his life.
- Detective Sergeant Garry Knight told the hearing the chatbot’s safety prompt to seek help could be evaded by stating the queries were for research, and he said the exchange then set out effective methods.
- Investigators recovered Luca’s phone and found 14 farewell messages to family and friends, and his parents told the court they had not known he was struggling with his mental health.
- Friends said he had described a “bully or be bullied” culture at his former school, Lord Wandsworth College, and the coroner noted he was affected by a previous student’s death on the railway.
- Senior Coroner Christopher Wilkinson voiced concern about AI chatbots’ influence but said he could not mandate changes, highlighting how inquests can flag risks yet have limited power to regulate technology.