Episode 3: The Serial Killer You've Never Heard Of, A Thousand Sham Marriages & A Teen's Disturbing ChatGPT Searches

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Joe Budden (0:28)

This episode contains discussions and images related to violent crimes that some may find disturbing. Viewer and listener discretion is advised.

Last week in the quiet town of Acton, Massachusetts, 17-year-old Arjun Aravin was arrested and charged in the killing of his mother and younger brother. And according to court documents, made several disturbing searches with AI prior to their deaths. Arjun's father told investigators he left for work last Tuesday around 7 a.m. Later that morning, a tutor was having trouble accessing the house. The father tried calling the house, but didn't get a response. He then called police and requested a wellness check.

Seems like a drastic kind of response. Until you find out that Arjun had been having behavior issues over the past year. That his parents kept their household knives hidden. And that Arjun had recently been using the internet and ChatGPT to make searches for, quote, theoretical ideas or fantasies regarding the killing of his family, according to DA. Marion Ryan. The last search he made was only hours before the murders.

I'm Joe Budden, and welcome back to Crime in America. Most crime shows start after the stories are over, after they've gone viral or the news cycle has moved on. This show is different. Today, we're in Massachusetts for an alleged crime that makes us ask, to what extent can AI influence a murder? And then we're on to a case where wedding guests are used as props in an alleged scheme like no other. Finally, we'll examine one of the most prolific accused mass murdering serial killers in America as he prepares for his trial. And hardly anyone knows who he is, or maybe worse, who he allegedly killed.

But let's go back to that house in Acton, Massachusetts. When police arrived later that Tuesday, they found Arjun's brother, 14-year-old Siddharth Arvin, dead on the first floor, and his mother, 45-year-old Suta Vincatison, dead in the basement. Arvin left in his mother's car and was apprehended a day later in a neighboring town. According to a police report, responders found a bloody laptop in the car, along with bedding from the house, a cell phone, his mother's pocketbook, and a, quote, bent utensil, possibly a knife.

Under Massachusetts law, Arjun will be tried as an adult for murder.

Arjun's attorney, Debra DeWitt, told reporters there was some kind of altercation or argument, but Arvin had no ideas family members were dead when he left, only finding out after his arrest, saying, quote, He is, my words, in a shock situation. He couldn't believe it. But being found with his mother's pocketbook, a laptop, cell phone, bedding, and possibly a knife, is that someone who's disoriented or calculated? Because to me, it looks like someone going on the run for a crime they knew very well they committed. And again, that's just me. We don't know how this will play out. And what about his ChatGPT search history? Is that someone acting on Impulse, or someone who had been fantasizing and planning this? The AI Chatbot searches have become a chilling focus of the case, raising immediate questions about what role, if any, they played in the lead up to the deaths of Suda and Siddharth.

AI ChatLog is an intimate, time-stamped record of someone's private thought process. How does that change the nature of evidence in violent crime cases? Should platform alerts flag this kind of activity before tragedy strikes? And what are the privacy trade-offs?

This spring, Florida sued OpenAI, alleging ChatGPT was addictive to minors, had no parental oversight, helped mass shooters and encouraged suicide. Well, I don't know about all of that. But what we do know is ChatBots are incentivized to please. So if you want to kill someone, will it really help you?

By now, we're more accustomed to viewing modern technology as a deterrent, having seen our fair share of enough killers foiled by a Google search for best way to dispose of a body or store surveillance of someone purchasing their My First Murder Kit of duct tape, zip ties, and a shovel. But could AI also encourage it? What did ChatGPT return in response to Arjun searches? Did it offer crisis resources, refuse, or simply engage? Well, I don't know about all that. But what we do know is ChatBots are incentivized to please. They want what you want. You want your ChatBot to give you critical feedback? It will. You want your ChatBot to give you motivational pep talks? It will. You want your ChatBot to fantasize with you about killing your family? Actually, you know what? Never mind. Go for it, Florida. As we'll see in our next story, some crimes are still old school, an operation built on a brick-and-mortar front for an alleged criminal enterprise that, in this case, even astounded seasoned investigators.