Suchana Seth, the CEO of an artificial intelligence startup in India named The Mindful AI Lab, was apprehended and arrested concerning the alleged murder of her four-year-old son, with his body reportedly found in her luggage.
Authorities in the southern state of Karnataka detained Seth on Monday, January 8, 2024. They coordinated with the taxi driver who was transporting her, instructing him to take her directly to the nearest police station, as revealed by Paresh Naik, a Goa police official.
According to Naik, Seth, who is 39 years old, had spent the weekend at a hotel in Goa, checking out on Monday night. However, her son was missing. When hotel staff uncovered blood stains in her room, they immediately contacted the police.
It was during the inspection of her luggage that the lifeless body of her son was found, North Goa Superintendent of Police Nidhin Valsan reported to Reuters. Seth informed the police, according to The Week, an Indian news outlet, that she was in the midst of divorce proceedings with her estranged husband and was disturbed by a court order.
Seth was subsequently taken back to Goa for further interrogation. Her husband, who was in Indonesia during the alleged murder, has been directed to return to India.
Seth’s LinkedIn profile describes her as a specialist in AI ethics and a data scientist, with over a decade of experience in guiding data science teams and advancing the application of machine learning in both startups and corporate research facilities. She also holds a fellowship at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center.
Superintendent Valsan mentioned that a complete autopsy would be needed to confirm the cause of the boy’s death. Dr. Kumar Naik from Hiriyur Taluk Hospital, where the post-mortem was conducted, hinted at the possibility of the child’s death due to suffocation by a cloth or pillow.
Police found two empty cough medicine bottles in Seth’s Goa residence, leading to speculation that the act may have been deliberate. They are exploring the possibility that the child was given a high dosage of the medicine before being suffocated.
Police sources indicate that the post-mortem results suggest suffocation without defensive wounds, suggesting the child may have been sedated with an excess of cough syrup before his life was taken. Employees at the service apartment where Seth was staying reported that she had asked them to buy a bottle of cough syrup for her.
“This appears to be a premeditated act,” a police officer commented. Seth’s motive for the alleged killing remains unclear. Meanwhile, she has undergone a psychological assessment to determine her mental state.
During questioning, Seth denied any involvement in her son’s death, claiming that she found him dead when she woke up. The police, however, are skeptical of her account. The investigation continues to uncover the circumstances surrounding the child’s death.
