Human Remains Found in Search for USF Student

Human remains were recovered Sunday in Pinellas County waterways as authorities continued searching for missing University of South Florida doctoral student Nahida Bristy, officials said. The remains, found on the St. Petersburg side of the Howard Frankland Bridge near Interstate 275 and 4th Street North, have not yet been identified. Bristy, 27, is presumed dead after disappearing last week along with 27-year-old Zamil Limon. Limon’s remains were recovered Friday on a bridge near Tampa. Limon’s roommate, 26-year-old Hisham Abugharbieh, was arrested Saturday and is charged with two counts of premeditated first-degree murder with a weapon; he is being held without bond. New court documents allege Abugharbieh used the AI chatbot ChatGPT in the days before the disappearances. According to the filings, on April 13 he asked ChatGPT what would happen if someone was ‘put in a black garbage bag and thrown in dumpster.’ The documents say the chatbot replied that sounded dangerous, and Abugharbieh allegedly followed up, ‘How would they find out.’ Prosecutors say Limon’s body ‘was located within numerous black utility trash bags in advanced stages of decomposition’ on the Howard Frankland Bridge and allege Bristy was ‘disposed of in a similar way.’ The filings further say Abugharbieh posed other questions to the chatbot and elsewhere: on April 15 he allegedly asked, ‘Can a VIN number on a car be changed?’ and ‘Can you keep a gun at home without a license.’ Just after midnight on April 17, he allegedly asked whether cars are ‘checked at the Hillsborough River state park.’ Court records indicate his phone pinged at the bridge location that same night. An autopsy by the Pinellas County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Limon suffered numerous lacerations and stab wounds; the manner of death was ruled a homicide due to ‘multiple sharp force injuries,’ the documents state. The filings also note Abugharbieh had multiple lacerations on his body, including wounds on both legs. Detectives applied an enhancement agent at the apartment shared by Limon and Abugharbieh and reported finding significant blood patterns from the entry foyer through the kitchen, into the hallway and inside the suspect’s bedroom; the blood in the bedroom appeared in two distinct patterns on the floor that resembled relatively human-sized shapes, according to the records. Abugharbieh is represented by a public defender. Authorities and media sought comment after his arraignment but received no response. He is scheduled to return to court Tuesday. University police said Limon and Bristy were last seen in the Tampa area on April 16, and families of both have been identified by authorities.