Three days before two University of South Florida doctoral students were last seen alive, the man accused of killing them allegedly typed a question into ChatGPT: "What happens if a human [was] put in a black garbage bag and thrown in a dumpster."
Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a weapon in the deaths of Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, both 27-year-old USF doctoral students. A Hillsborough County judge ordered him held without bond on Tuesday.
According to a 23-page pretrial detention motion filed by prosecutors, the alleged ChatGPT exchange on April 13 did not end with that first question. When the AI responded that the scenario "sounds dangerous," Abugharbieh allegedly followed up: "How would they find out." Two days later, he allegedly searched whether a car's VIN number could be changed.
The two students were last seen alive on April 16. A mutual friend reported them missing the next day after being unable to reach either of them. Detectives determined that Abugharbieh's vehicle was in the same area of Clearwater Beach around the same time as the last pinged location of Limon's phone.
Shortly before 11 p.m. on April 16, Abugharbieh allegedly received a DoorDash delivery of items from CVS that included trash bags, Lysol wipes, Febreze, Funyuns, and Irish Spring Body Wash. Prosecutors describe the purchases as part of a pattern of alleged premeditation documented through phone records, shopping history, and location data.
Limon's remains were found Friday on the side of a Tampa bridge. His body, described in court filings as in "advanced stages of decomposition," was found in multiple black utility trash bags. The filing states there were deep cuts at his hips "to permit folding of the legs into the bag" and that his wrists and ankles appeared bound. The Pinellas County Medical Examiner determined the cause of death was "multiple sharp force injuries," including stab wounds to the abdomen and lower back.
Human remains recovered from waterways near the same bridge on Sunday are believed to be Bristy's, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. Positive identification had not been confirmed as of the filing. Prosecutors wrote that Bristy is "believed to have been disposed of in a similar way" to Limon. Abugharbieh was Limon's roommate.
Eleven other defendants connected to a broader investigation are set to enter plea agreements. Abugharbieh's case remains before the court in Hillsborough County.
