A college football player’s death has been ruled a suicide after participating in a bizarre “devil trend” TikTok game, officials said.
The Harris County Forensic Science Institute in Texas said 19-year-old Rice University sophomore Claire Tracy died of “asphyxia due to helium displacing oxygen,” and they ruled her manner of death a suicide.
Tracy was a freshman football player at the University of Houston, but quit their Division I program after struggling for time on the field for a year, the Daily Mail reported. She recently posted about her mental struggles on social media.
Claire Tracey in an undated school photo. Rice University
Screenshot of the Harris County Forensic Science Institute website. Harris County Forensic Science Institute
“I’m kind of tired of my emotions alternating between complete pain and complete dissociation/neutral to whatever is going on,” Tracy wrote in a TikTok video posted in October.
Tracy studied finance at Rice University and was an academically top student—a spot on the honor roll all four years of high school. Friends around the university have been mourning Tracy since Sunday, honoring the Wisconsin native’s academic and athletic achievements.
“I’ve been shocked and confused over the past 48 hours [and] Dayo Tennyson, who shared a locker with Tracey last year, told the Daily Mail: “For me personally it’s just more traumatic for her.”
Video posted to TikTok by Claire Tracy on October 3, 2025. TikTok/@thatslightlyunhinedgirl
Claire Tracey in a photo posted on social media. @ClaireTracy13/X
Before her death, Tracey took part in a bizarre TikTok trend, engaging in a social media challenge with ChatGPT known as the “Devil Trend,” in which users wrote “The devil can’t reach me, what should I do?” and then posted the chatbot’s responses.
Tracy’s prompts, which included asking her to “give the most brutally honest answer based on what you know about me,” were designed to encourage the chatbot to respond to her insecurities or flaws based on previous chats.
“You burn yourself out in the pursuit of meaning, dissecting your own existence until the analysis itself becomes a form of violence. You don’t need the devil to tempt you, you hand him the blade and carve the truth into your own mind,” the reply reads in part.
A screenshot of Tracey’s TikTok account, the day before her body was found. TikTok/@thatslightlyunhinedgirl
ChatGPT’s response to Tracy’s prompt. TikTok/@thatslightlyunhinedgirl
The trend comes as OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, is being sued for its chatbot encouraging suicidal thoughts and even instructing users on how to harm themselves.
According to the Rice University website, the university provides 24/7 mental health counseling to students.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can get free and confidential crisis counseling by calling 1-888-NYC-WELL. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can call the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988 or visit SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
