Hisham Abugharbieh has been charged in the deaths of his roommate and his roommate’s girlfriend

 

law enforcement agents walk outside in a grassy area
A search for University of South Florida doctoral student Nahida Bristy near the mangroves close to the Howard Franklin Bridge. Photograph: Dave Decker/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

The man charged with killing two University of South Florida doctoral students from Bangladesh allegedly asked ChatGPT about what happens if a person has been put in a garbage bag and “thrown in a dumpster”, according to prosecutors in a court filing.

He also allegedly bought duct tape and trash bags in the days leading up to the students’ disappearance.

Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, has been charged with two counts of premeditated murder in the first-degree with a weapon in the deaths of his roommate, Zamil Limon, 27, and his roommate’s girlfriend, Nahida Bristy, 27, the Hillsborough county sheriff’s office announced on Saturday.

Authorities said Abugharbieh, a former USF student, was Limon’s off-campus roommate. Limon’s remains were found on Friday morning “within numerous black utility trash bags in advanced stages of decomposition” on the Howard Frankland Bridge over Tampa Bay.

Bristy was still missing as of Saturday morning, but prosecutors said in the Saturday filing that “no evidence has been uncovered during the course of the investigation to support any probability Nahida Bristy remains alive”.

The students disappeared from the USF campus on 16 April.

During the missing persons investigation, deputies identified Abugharbieh as Limon’s roommate. Authorities said that he was arrested on Friday after they responded to a domestic violence call at his family’s home.

Prosecutors allege that on 7 April, Abugharbieh ordered duct tape online and that on 11 April he also ordered fire starter, charcoal, trash bags and lighter fuel, per court documents seen by the Guardian.

Prosecutors also allege that on 13 April he asked ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence chatbot: “What happens if a human has a [sic] put in a black garbage bag and thrown in a dumpster.”

The filing states that ChatGPT responded that it sounded dangerous, to which Abugharbieh allegedly responded: “How would they find out.”

Two days later, on 15 April, he reportedly asked ChatGPT: “Can a VIN number on a car be changed?” and “Can you keep a gun at home with out a license.”

Then on 17 April, prosecutors allege that Abugharbieh asked: “are cars checked at the Hillsborough River state park.”

Prosecutors also say in the filing that Abugharbieh’s and Limon’s roommate told investigators that between the night of 16 April and the morning of 17 April, they observed Abugharbieh using a gray rolling trolley cart to “move multiple cardboard boxes from within Hisham’s room to the compactor dumpster on site”.

“When asked about the cart and/or boxes, Hisham Abugharbieh advised he removed old clothing he no longer wanted,” the filing states.

Authorities later searched the compactor, per the filing, and found a wallet containing a student ID and a visa card belonging to Limon and other items.

On Sunday, the Hillsborough county sheriff’s office reported that human remains had been recovered from the waterways of Tampa Bay, though they have not yet been identified.

Court records show that Abugharbieh, who is a US citizen, made an initial court appearance on Saturday and was ordered held without bond. A hearing was scheduled for 28 April at 9am.

In the court filing, it states that during an interview with investigators, Abugharbieh denied “having any involvement in the disappearance of Zamila Limon and Nahida Bristy”.

The Hillsborough county public defender’s office, which has been appointed to represent him, declined to comment on the case.

OpenAI, which operates ChatGPT, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive for the killings.