Florida AG Expands OpenAI Criminal Investigation to Include USF Murders
Attorney General James Uthmeier expands his landmark criminal investigation into OpenAI after learning a USF murder suspect used ChatGPT for disposal guidance.
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Monday that he is expanding his criminal investigation into OpenAI to include the University of South Florida murders after learning the suspected killer consulted ChatGPT about disposing of human remains.
The announcement comes days after Tampa prosecutors revealed that Hisham Aburgharbieh, charged with killing two USF doctoral students, used the AI chatbot to ask questions about placing bodies in dumpsters and other murder-related topics.
“We are expanding our criminal investigation into OpenAI to include the USF murders after learning the primary suspect used ChatGPT,” Uthmeier announced on social media Monday.
Details of the ChatGPT Conversations
Court documents filed to prevent Aburgharbieh’s release on bail reveal extensive exchanges between the 26-year-old suspect and the AI chatbot. The conversations span three days before the disappearances of victims Zimal Limon and Nahida Bristy to hours before Limon’s body was discovered.
According to prosecutors, Aburgharbieh asked ChatGPT whether a person could survive a “sniper bullet to the head” and inquiries about putting a human in a trash bag. He also questioned whether a car’s vehicle identification number could be changed.
Other messages include questions about whether “cars are checked” at a state park during early morning hours when the students disappeared. Later conversations asked “will my neighbors hear my gun” and “what does missing endangered adult mean.”
The USF Murder Case
Aburgharbieh is charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a weapon in connection with the deaths of 27-year-old Bangladeshi friends Zimal Limon and Nahida Bristy. The USF doctoral students were reported missing on April 16.
Aburgharbieh, who was Limon’s roommate, also faces charges including false imprisonment and unlawfully holding or moving a dead body, according to court records.
Connection to FSU Shooting Investigation
The USF case marks the second time Uthmeier has investigated OpenAI’s potential criminal liability in Florida violent crimes. Last week, the attorney general subpoenaed the multibillion-dollar company over its potential involvement in the mass shooting at Florida State University last April.
In that case, accused shooter Phoenix Ikner consulted ChatGPT on the morning of the attack about how to fire guns, the busiest times on campus, and how many murdered victims are needed to draw national media attention, according to investigators.
Uthmeier’s investigation represents a first-of-its-kind probe into whether an AI company can be held criminally liable for violent crimes committed by users who consulted its chatbot for guidance.
