“Major Update: Autopsy Confirms Zamil Limon’s Cause of Death as Homicide by Multiple Sharp Force Injuries — Investigators Now Scrutinizing a Troubling 3-Hour Gap in Phone and Location Data Linked to Nahida Bristy’s Disappearance”

As the suspect accused of killing two 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 in Tampa. Limon’s body was found a week later, and investigators believe Bristy was also killed. Her body has not been found.

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. A judge ruled Tuesday he will remain in detention as he awaits trial.

In a motion prosecutors filed last week to keep Abugharbieh, 26, in jail while he faces the charges, they laid out a detailed timeline of how investigators think the two University of South Florida 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. Bristy and Limon speak briefly on the phone several times.

Around midday, Bristy is seen on surveillance video walking on the university’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.

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Zamil Limon, left, and Nahida Bristy were reported missing last week.
(Family of Zamil Limon/Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)

Family of Zamil Limon/Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

2 University of South Florida doctoral students were promising young researchers. Now a roommate is charged in their killing

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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 missing persons flyer for two University of South Florida students released by the Hillsborough Co. Sheriff Office
Hillsborough Co. Sheriff Office

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 – a strip of I-275 spanning Tampa Bay – 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 Saturday, April 18, the motion reads. She mentions 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 Sheriff’s Office Marine and Dive teams searching for missing University of South Florida doctoral student Nahida Bristy near the Howard Frankland Bridge in Florida.
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

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 “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 got 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 asked ChatGPT on April 23, “What does missing endangered adult mean.”

April 24: Limon’s body found, suspect arrested

This still from a video released by Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office shows the moment the suspect was arrested in connection to the disappearance of two USF students.
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

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

Hisham Abugharbieh appears in court via video on Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Tampa, Fla.
WFTS-TV/AP

The pretrial motion is filed, with prosecutors alleging Abugharbieh made the purchase