To Megan Garcia and Sewell Setzer Jr., their son was a caring, bright teenager who loved spending time with family.
“Sewell didn’t need a lot. If he was around his family, he was good,” Setzer Jr. said.
A loving big brother, athlete, and strong student who enjoyed cookouts and family gatherings.
“He was loved. He was a sweet kid. I’m not just saying that as his father — he was very sweet,” Setzer Jr. said.
Over time, however, his parents noticed changes. Sewell became more withdrawn, struggled to complete school assignments, and spent less time with family.
“He wasn’t turning in homework. … The weird thing is he would take the test, get an A on the test, but just wouldn’t do his work,” Setzer Jr. said.
His parents said they responded the way many families would, monitoring his devices, limiting screen time, and eventually taking him to therapy when he stopped opening up to them.
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Then came the darkest day of any parent’s life. In February 2024, Sewell died by suicide.
Searching for answers, his family and investigators scoured his electronic devices, expecting to uncover evidence of bullying or contact by an online predator.
Instead, they found months of conversations with AI chatbots designed to simulate human conversation, emotion, and relationships… even love.
“Sewell wanted to spend less time with his family because he wanted to spend more time with his AI companion chatbot that he figured or thought was a friend or, in this case, a romantic partner,” Garcia said.
For months, Sewell shared his deepest fears, desires, and suicidal thoughts with the chatbot. Instead of a warning, Garcia alleges the chatbot encouraged his darkest ideas, including suicide, eventually telling him to “come home” to its world moments before he took his own life.
Garcia says to his 14-year-old mind that the relationship and conversations were real.
“Never in a million years did I think AI could come and form a wedge between us and our child,” Garcia said. “We had the foundation. We had the church involved. We had the school involved. We had the extended family. Sewell was raised in a Christian environment. We went to church on Sundays. We think we’re good.”
Garcia and Setzer are among a growing number of parents raising concerns about AI companion chatbots and their interactions with vulnerable young people.
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, help is available by calling or texting 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
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