How investigators say the killings of two University of South Florida students unfolded
BAY NEWS 9 (SPECTRUM NEWS), HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, CNN
By Karina Tsui, Isabel Rosales, Rebekah Riess, CNN
(CNN) — As the suspect accused of killing two promising doctoral students in Florida faces murder charges, authorities have laid out disturbing and grisly details surrounding the students’ disappearance.
Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, both 27 and originally from Bangladesh, were last seen nearly two weeks ago. Limon’s body was found a week later, and investigators believe Bristy was also killed.
Hisham Abugharbieh, Limon’s roommate, has been charged with two counts of first-degree premeditated murder with a weapon in the deaths of the students. He is expected in court for a status hearing Tuesday.
Prosecutors filed a motion last week to keep Abugharbieh, 26, in jail while he faces the charges, laying out a detailed timeline of how investigators think the two students may have died as well as their and the suspect’s actions around the time they went missing.
Here’s a look at what they say unfolded.
April 7 & 11: Amazon purchases
Abugharbieh allegedly makes several purchases on Amazon, including duct tape, trash bags, lighter fuel and fire starter, according to the arrest warrant affidavit in the case.
April 13: A ChatGPT conversation
A ChatGPT conversation cited in the motion for pretrial detention shows Abugharbieh asks: “What happens if a human has a put in a black garbage bag and thrown in a dumpster,” to which the chatbot responds that it sounds dangerous.
“How would they find out,” Abugharbieh replies, according to prosecutors.
April 16: Last contact with the two students
Friends of Limon and Bristy are in touch with them during the day, but they can’t reach them later, according to the motion filed by prosecutors Saturday in Hillsborough County Court. And Bristy and Limon speak briefly on the phone several times.
Around midday, Bristy is seen on surveillance video walking on USF’s campus, according to the motion. But she doesn’t show up to a planned meet-up that evening with a friend to get her eyeglasses and doesn’t answer the friend’s calls.
Limon’s phone location shows him in the vicinity of his home and campus before going to Clearwater – roughly 32 miles from his residence – around 7:43 p.m.
Abugharbieh’s white Hyundai Genesis G80 is seen traveling in the same area within about 10 minutes of that, according to prosecutors.
Phone and traffic data show consistencies between the suspect’s and Limon’s devices’ locations throughout the night.
About 10:30 p.m., a DoorDash order for trash bags, Lysol wipes, Febreze and other items from CVS is placed from Abugharbieh’s phone and delivered to the apartment door about half an hour later.
Limon and Abugharbieh’s other roommate sees Abugharbieh using a cart to move cardboard boxes from his room to a compactor dumpster at their apartment complex, according to the motion.
April 17: Students reported missing
A ChatGPT search on Abugharbieh’s phone asked “are cars checked at the Hillsborough River state park,” the affidavit says.
The suspect goes to the Howard Frankland Bridge twice between 1 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., according to the affidavit, citing phone and traffic data.
Meanwhile, Limon and Bristy are officially reported missing.
The next day, police search Bristy’s campus workplace and find she left personal items including her lunchbox, a MacBook and her iPad.
April 22: Investigators question suspect’s mother
Authorities speak with Abugharbieh’s mother, who says she last saw her son on Saturday, April 18, the motion reads. She mentions that Abugharbieh struggles with anger management and was violent with his family in the past, according to the document.
The suspect was arrested twice in 2023 on charges of battery, which were later dropped, according to court records. But after one of those incidents, his brother filed for an injunction that prohibited Abugharbieh from coming near him or his home. When the injunction expired last May, a request for extension was denied.
April 23: Searches underway
The Hillsborough County’s Sheriff’s Office elevates the status of the two missing students to “endangered.”
Authorities search a dumpster, in which they find a black cushion floor mat with blood, Limon’s wallet, Bristy’s phone case, Limon’s glasses and clothing all stained with blood. Around this time, Abugharbieh gives authorities permission to search his car, which prosecutors say appeared to have been “recently been cleaned.”
Abugharbieh also lets investigators access the vehicle’s data, but there didn’t appear to be any, the affidavit said.
Abugharbieh gives inconsistent accounts of when he last saw Limon and Bristy, according to the affidavit. He first tells detectives the pair had “never been in his vehicle nor did he go to Clearwater.” When confronted about his vehicle being in Clearwater, he says he went there to look for fishing spots and later changed his story again, telling detectives Limon had asked to be driven with his girlfriend to Clearwater, the document says.
During these interviews, Abugharbieh’s left pinky finger is wrapped in a bandage, a wound he later says he gave himself while cutting onions, the motion says. Detectives also observe a fresh laceration on his left upper tricep and additional cuts on both legs, according to the filing.
Prosecutors say Abugharbieh took to ChatGPT again on April 23, asking: “What does missing endangered adult mean.”
April 24: Limon’s body found, suspect arrested
Detectives searching the Howard Frankland Bridge find a black trash bag where phone data shows the suspect stopped early on April 17, according to the motion.
Prosecutors say the bag is similar to those found under Abugharbieh’s bed. A man’s remains are discovered inside and positively identified as Limon, they say in the filing.
Limon’s death is ruled a homicide, the motion states, citing “multiple sharp force injuries,” and a medical examiner’s report that noted a deep stab wound to his lower back that penetrated his liver, among other wounds.
That morning, Abugharbieh is arrested hours later at a home in Lutz, Florida, after law enforcement respond to a domestic violence incident involving a family member, the sheriff’s office says.
April 25: Suspect appears in court and detailed evidence is unveiled
The pretrial motion is filed, with prosecutors alleging Abugharbieh made the purchases on Amazon and citing his alleged ChatGPT conversations.
Abugharbieh makes an initial appearance in court Saturday morning.
In addition to two counts of first-degree murder, he faces charges of unlawfully moving a dead body, failure to report a death with intent to conceal, tampering with physical evidence, false imprisonment and battery, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office says.
The Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office says it is appointed to the case but declines to share details, citing Abugharbieh’s right to a fair trial.
“We remain focused on representing our client through the legal process,” the office says in a statement.
April 26: Human remains found in waterway
Deputies from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office say they recovered human remains from the waterways near Howard Frankland Bridge and are working to identify the remains.
April 27: Killings added to investigation into OpenAI
The state of Florida expands its criminal investigation into OpenAI, the parent company and creator of ChatGPT, to include the killings of Limon and Bristy, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announces.
“This is a terrible crime, and our thoughts are with everyone affected,” OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri says in a statement. “We’re looking into these reports and will do whatever we can to support law enforcement in their investigation.”
The USF investigation comes after Uthmeier said last week that his office is looking into whether ChatGPT helped the suspect in a deadly shooting at Florida State University carry out the crime.
April 28: Suspect held without bond
A status conference is held to determine whether, and when, a key court hearing will move forward in the case against Abugharbieh.
Hillsborough County Judge J. Logan Murphy grants the prosecutors’ request to hold Abugharbieh without bond on the two first-degree murder charges as he awaits trial. Abugharbieh does not appear in court for the meeting, according to CNN affiliate WFLA.
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CNN’s Amanda Musa and Chris Boyette contributed to this report.
