USF double homicide suspect allegedly asked ChatGPT how to hide a body

Newly released court documents have given the University of South Florida double-homicide case a grim new center of gravity: investigators say Hisham Abugharbieh allegedly asked ChatGPT how to dispose of a body before Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy died. For prosecutors, that digital trail may help frame the case as planned violence rather than a sudden eruption.

Limon and Bristy, both 27-year-old doctoral students from Bangladesh, were last seen on April 16, 2026. Investigators said Limon was last seen around 9 a.m. at his home on Avalon Heights Boulevard, while Bristy was last seen around 10 a.m. at USF’s National and Environmental Sciences building. The disappearance quickly turned into a homicide probe as cellphone data, license-plate readers and vehicle-tracking information began lining up with other evidence.

Limon’s remains were found on April 24, 2026, on the Howard Frankland Bridge, and authorities later identified the second set of remains recovered near the bridge as Bristy’s. Abugharbieh was arrested the same day after a standoff near campus. Court filings also say prosecutors tied heavy-duty trash bags found in the apartment to bags discovered near the bridge, where one victim’s remains were recovered in the water and debris.

The documents further allege that days before the students vanished, Abugharbieh bought trash bags, duct tape, cleaning supplies and air freshener. Investigators say he also asked the AI chatbot how a body in a black bag would be found, whether someone could survive a gunshot to the head and how a vehicle could be identified. That combination of searches and purchases has become central to the state’s argument that the killings were premeditated.

Abugharbieh now faces two counts of first-degree murder, along with charges including domestic violence, false imprisonment, tampering with evidence, unlawfully moving a dead body and failure to report a death. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has expanded a criminal investigation into OpenAI and ChatGPT after learning of the alleged search history, putting the USF case at the center of a broader state probe.

The toll on the campus community has been immediate. USF President Moez Limayem said Limon and Bristy would be added to the university memorial for deceased students, and the school held a vigil on May 1, 2026, at Crescent Hill near the Marshall Student Center. Hundreds attended, including members of Tampa’s Bangladeshi community, and a funeral prayer was scheduled at the Islamic Society of Tampa Bay as the case moved toward a grand jury presentation and a community still waiting for justice.