ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The suspect in the killings of two University of South Florida doctoral students from Bangladesh had asked ChatGPT what would happen if a human body was put in a garbage bag and thrown in a dumpster, days before they went missing, according to a report filed by prosecutors over the weekend.
Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, also asked the artificial intelligence chatbot whether the VIN identification number on his car could be changed, and
whether he could keep a gun at home without a license, according to the pretrial detention report filed Saturday. ChatGPT responded that Abugharbieh’s question sounded dangerous, according to the report.
The remains of Abugharbieh's roommate, Zamil Limon, were found on the Howard Frankland bridge Friday morning, but Hillsborough County Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer said later that day that they were still searching for Limon's girlfriend, Nahida Bristy. On Sunday, the sheriff’s office announced that a body had been found in a waterway near the bridge, but had not been identified.
Abugharbieh, was charged with two counts of premeditated murder in the first degree with a weapon in the deaths of Limon and Bristy, the sheriff’s office announced Saturday. The former USF student was ordered held without bond on Saturday. A hearing is set for Tuesday.
Limon and Bristy, both 27, were considering getting married, a relative said. They disappeared April 16. Limon was last seen at the off-campus apartment complex where he lived with Abugharbieh, and Bristy at a campus science building.
Limon was studying geography, environmental science and policy, and Bristy was studying chemical engineering. She was a graduate of Noakhali Science and Technology University. The school, which spelled her last name as Brishti, said in a statement Saturday that she was a Ph.D. candidate and described her as a talented and promising student.
A friend contacted police April 17 about being unable to reach both Bristy and Limon, despite repeated attempts by phone, according to the report. Police investigators searched Bristy's campus office the next day and found her purse, lunchbox, MacBook and iPad.
At Limon’s off-campus apartment, detectives questioned Limon’s two roommates and noticed that Abugharbieh’s left pinky finger was bandaged. When confronted by detectives, Abugharbieh denied any involvement with Limon’s disappearance.
The third roommate told detectives that Abugharbieh had used a cart overnight on April 16 to move cardboard boxes from his room to the trash compactor. In the trash compactor, detectives found Limon’s wallet and campus ID badge, credit card, eyeglasses and clothes that appeared to have blood on them.
Detectives found blood leading from the kitchen to Abugharbieh’s bedroom and more blood in his bedroom. In Limon’s bedroom, they found Bristy’s campus ID and credit cards, suggesting she had been at the apartment before she disappeared, according to the report.
Using cellphone location and license plate reader data, detectives concluded that Abugharbieh’s car and Limon’s phone had both been on the bridge and on Clearwater Beach, the report said. Based on location data from Abugharbieh’s phone, detectives searched around the bridge and found a trash bag containing Limon’s body. The medical examiner concluded that Limon had numerous stab wounds.
Abugharbieh, a native-born U.S. citizen, was initially taken into custody on Friday at his family’s home on preliminary charges that include unlawfully moving a dead body, failure to report a death, tampering with evidence, false imprisonment and battery. Online court records do not list an attorney for him. Messages were sent via email and phone to the public defender’s office in Hillsborough County.
Officers encountered Abugharbieh as they responded to a report of domestic violence at his family’s home, just north of the campus, and were able to move his relatives to safety. But then he barricaded himself inside and refused to come out. A SWAT team responded — along with a drone, a robot and crisis negotiators — before Abugharbieh came out with his hands up, apparently wearing nothing but a blue towel.
Abugharbieh had been a USF student but was not currently enrolled. University records showed he had attended the school from Spring 2021 through Spring 2023, and had pursued a BS in Management, a university spokesperson said. ___
Associated Press Writer Sarah Brumfield contributed from Cockeysville, Maryland.
