The family of a 32-year-old Nvidia researcher who died in July is calling on Palo Alto police to continue to dig into the circumstances of his death, which authorities have ruled a suicide.
Irfan Al-Hussaini was found unresponsive in his Palo Alto home on July 22 and died about a week later. His family is urging state and local authorities to look further into his death, saying the circumstances surrounding his passing are suspicious.
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WATCH HERE"The brother I knew would never, ever take his own life," Irfan's sister, Sarah Al-Hussaini, said Thursday during a news conference in front of Palo Alto City Hall.
Irfan was a senior AI researcher at Nvidia who had recently been promoted and was focused on his promising future.
While authorities ruled his death a suicide, his family argues the evidence they have says otherwise.
"What little information we were told does not match with the information we have gathered so far and the things we know," Sarah said.
The family said Irfan presented research to about 15 colleagues until about 9 a.m. on July 22. At 10:02 a.m., a Slack message was sent from his account to his manager saying his wife was not feeling well and would take the day off, the family said. A 911 call was placed about 20 minutes later. Doctors told the family initial scans suggested Irfan had been without oxygen for nearly 30 to 60 minutes.
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"So who sent that 10:02 text?" Sarah said. "Does that text fit with the medical timeline?"
The family and their attorney, Tony Brass, said there was no suicide note left. They also question whether domestic violence was overlooked.
"The plan that they're supposed to accept is that he hung himself from a door while his wife was home and he did it in a way that she did not detect or know that that was happening," Brass said. "That makes no sense."
The family said Irfan was wearing an Oura ring that morning and believes its data could potentially help establish a timeline for investigators.
"We want a proper investigation, we want answers, we want justice for Irfan," Sarah said.
Palo Alto police said the case remains under investigation, pending the medical examiner’s report. The department said it has received materials from the family and others, adding that neither police nor the medical examiner have identified evidence of foul play.
An attorney for Irfan’s widow said she fully cooperated with the investigation and that a full forensic autopsy was performed on Aug. 31. The attorney said Irfan’s widow has no objections to forensic materials being reviewed.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
