Criminal Justice
Suspect in students’ killings asked ChatGPT how to dispose of bodies, prosecutors say
Detectives with the Hillsborough County sheriff’s office join an investigation inside the Lake Forest subdivision of Tampa, Florida, on Friday, April 24, 2026, where authorities said a man was taken into custody after barricading himself inside a home, in connection to the search for two missing University of South Florida graduate students. (Photo by Douglas R. Clifford/The Tampa Bay Times via the Associated Press)
The ChatGPT records of the suspect in the killings of two University of South Florida doctoral students show that he asked what would happen to a human body if it was put in a garbage bag and thrown in a dumpster just days before the students went missing, according to a report filed by the prosecutors.
The Associated Press has the story.
The report, filed over the weekend, also shows that Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, asked whether his car’s vehicle identification number could be changed and whether he could keep a gun at home without a license, according to the pretrial detention report filed Saturday. The artificial intelligence chatbot responded that the 26-year-old’s question sounded dangerous, according to the AP.
Zamil Limon was Abugharbieh’s roommate, and his remains were found on the Howard Frankland Bridge in Florida on Friday morning. The search was still on for Nahida Bristy, Limon’s girlfriend, Hillsborough County Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer said later that day.
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