Editor’s note: This story contains graphic details.
As the suspect accused of killing two doctoral students in Florida faces murder charges, authorities have released disturbing and gruesome details about the students’ disappearance.
Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, both 27, are from Bangladesh and were last seen in Tampa nearly two weeks ago. Limon’s body was found a week later. Bristi’s badly decomposed remains were found two days later.
Limon’s roommate, Hisham Abugarbieh, was charged with two counts of first-degree premeditated murder with a weapon in the student’s death. A judge ruled Tuesday that he will remain in custody while awaiting trial.
In a motion filed last week by prosecutors asking that 26-year-old Abugharbieh be kept in jail while he faces charges, they laid out a detailed timeline of when investigators believe the two USF students may have died, as well as their and the suspect’s actions during the period of their disappearance.
Here’s what they said.
April 7 and 11: Buy on Amazon
Abuhabiya allegedly purchased multiple items on Amazon, including duct tape, trash bags, lighter fuel and fire starters, according to an arrest warrant affidavit in the case.
April 13: ChatGPT conversation
A ChatGPT conversation cited in the motion for pretrial detention showed Abugharbieh asking, “What would happen if a person put an object in a black garbage bag and threw it in the trash,” to which the chatbot responded that it sounded dangerous.
“How would they know,” Abuhabi replied, according to prosecutors.
April 16: Last contact with two students
Friends of Limon and Bristi were in contact with them during the day but were unable to reach them later, according to a motion prosecutors filed Saturday in Hillsborough County Court. Bristi and Limon spoke briefly on the phone several times.
Bristi could be seen on surveillance video walking on the university campus around noon, the motion states. But that night she didn’t attend a planned meeting with a friend to pick up her glasses, and she didn’t answer her friend’s phone call.
Limon’s cellphone location showed him near his home and campus — about 32 miles from his residence — before heading to Clearwater around 7:43 p.m.
According to prosecutors, Abu Khabiyeh’s white Hyundai Genesis G80 was driving in the same area within about 10 minutes.
Phone and traffic data showed consistency between the location of the suspect and Limon’s device throughout the night.
Around 10:30 p.m., Abugharbieh ordered trash bags, Lysol wipes, Febreze and other items from CVS through DoorDash on his phone, which were delivered to his apartment door about half an hour later.
According to the motion, Limon and another roommate of Abuhabi saw Abuhabi use a cart to move cardboard boxes from his room to the apartment complex’s compaction dumpster.
April 17: Student reported missing
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office releases missing persons flyer for two USF students – Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
A ChatGPT search on Abugharbieh’s phone asked “if cars at Hillsborough River State Park were inspected,” according to the affidavit.
The suspect made two trips to the Howard Frankland Bridge, which spans Interstate 275 across Tampa Bay, between 1 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., the affidavit said, citing phone and traffic data.
Meanwhile, Limon and Bristi were officially reported missing.
The next day, police searched Bristi’s campus workplace and found she had left behind personal belongings, including a lunch box, MacBook and iPad.
April 22: Investigators question suspect’s mother
Authorities spoke with Abuhabi’s mother, who said she last saw her son on Saturday, April 18, the motion states. She mentioned Abuhabi had trouble managing anger and had been violent toward family members in the past, documents show.
Court records show the suspect was arrested twice on assault charges in 2023 that were later dismissed. But after one of the incidents, his brother applied for an injunction banning Abu Khabi from coming near him or his home. Requests for an extension were denied after the ban expired last May.
April 23: Search underway
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Marines and dive teams search for missing University of South Florida doctoral student Nahida Bristi near the Howard Frankland Bridge in Florida. -Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has upgraded the status of two missing students to “critical.”
Authorities searched a dumpster and found a black mat with blood on it, Limon’s wallet, Bristi’s cellphone case, Limon’s glasses and clothes stained with blood. Around this time, Abuhabi allowed authorities to search his car, which prosecutors said appeared to have been “recently cleaned.”
Abuhabiya also gave investigators access to the vehicle’s data, but there did not appear to be any, the affidavit said.
Abuhabi gave inconsistent accounts of when he last saw Limon and Bristi, according to testimony. He first told detectives that the two men “had never been in his car or been to Clearwater.” When asked about his car being in Clearwater, he said he went there to look for fishing spots, then changed his story and told detectives Limon asked to drive to Clearwater with his girlfriend, documents state.
During those interviews, Abuhabi’s left pinky finger was bandaged, which he later said was injured while chopping onions, the motion states. Detectives also observed a new laceration on his upper left tricep and other wounds on both legs, documents state.
Prosecutors said Abugharbieh asked ChatGPT on April 23, “What does a missing endangered adult mean.”
April 24: Limon’s body found, suspect arrested
A screenshot of a video released by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office shows the arrest of a suspect in the disappearance of two University of South Florida students. -Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Detectives found a black garbage bag while searching the Howard Frankland Bridge, and cell phone data showed the suspect stopped in the bag early on April 17, the motion said.
Prosecutors said the bag was similar to one found under Abu Habiyeh’s bed. They said in the document that the remains of a man were found inside and they identified him as Limon.
Limon’s death was ruled a homicide due to “multiple sharps injuries,” and a medical examiner’s report noted Limon suffered a deep stab wound to his lower back that pierced his liver, among other wounds, the motion said.
Abuhabi was arrested hours later at a home in Lutz, Florida, after law enforcement responded to a domestic violence incident involving a family member that morning, the Sheriff’s Office said.
April 25: The suspect appears in court and detailed evidence is released
Hisham Abuharbieh appears in court via video on Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Tampa, Florida – WFTS-TV/AP
Pretrial motions have been filed in which prosecutors accuse Abuhabiya of purchasing items on Amazon, citing his alleged ChatGPT conversations.
Abuhabi made his first court appearance Saturday morning.
In addition to two counts of first-degree murder, he faces charges of unlawful removal of a body, failure to report a death with intent to conceal it, tampering with physical evidence, false imprisonment and battery, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said.
The Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office said it had been assigned to the case but declined to release details, citing Abuhabi’s right to a fair trial.
“We remain focused on representing our clients through the legal process,” the office said in a statement.
April 26: Human remains found in waterway
A second black trash bag was found on the shoreline south of where Limon was found.
Inside, investigators found another set of human remains in “advanced stages of decomposition,” according to the arrest affidavit.
The bag was found tied in a knot, like the bag containing Limon’s remains, the affidavit said. Investigators also noted that the body was wearing clothing consistent with the unique clothing Nahida Bristi was last seen wearing in surveillance footage.
Like Limon, the victim suffered multiple stab wounds. But officials were unable to immediately identify the remains due to their advanced decomposition.
April 27: Killings added to OpenAI investigation
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that Florida has expanded its criminal investigation into OpenAI (the parent company and creator of ChatGPT) to include the killings of Limon and Bristy.
“This was a horrific crime and our thoughts are with everyone affected,” OpenAI spokesman Drew Pusateri said in a statement. “We are investigating these reports and will do everything we can to support law enforcement in their investigation.”
Uthmeier said last week that his office is investigating whether ChatGPT helped the suspect in the fatal Florida State University shooting commit a crime and “whether OpenAI is criminally responsible for ChatGPT’s actions.”
April 28: Suspect detained without bail
A status meeting was held to determine how the case against Abu Habiyah would proceed.
Hillsborough County Judge J. Logan Murphy granted prosecutors’ request to hold Abuhabi jailed without bail on two counts of first-degree murder while he awaits trial. Erin Maloney, a spokesperson for the state attorney’s office, said Abuhabiya was not in court for the meeting.
An arraignment has not yet been scheduled.
May 1: The decomposing remains are announced as those of Bristi
Five days later, a kayaker’s fishing line became tangled in a trash bag containing a badly decomposed body, which the Hillsborough County Sheriff identified as Bristi’s.
“While this designation brings answers, it also brings tremendous sadness. Nasheida Bristi and Zamir Limon were not only students, but driven, accomplished individuals destined for and deserving of a great future,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister.
He also provided disturbing details about what happened to Limon. His hands and ankles were tied together, and his legs were “almost completely severed so that he could bend them together … (making) it easier to put in a garbage bag,” Chronister said. “As gruesome as this murder was, he was effectively left on the side of the highway like a piece of trash.”
The motive for the killing is unknown and detectives are “anxiously searching,” the sheriff said.
CNN’s Holly Yan, Amanda Musa and Chris Boyette contributed to this report.
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