A case that began as a missing persons report has taken a grim turn, with a former University of South Florida student now facing two counts of murder after the body of one doctoral student was recovered from a Tampa Bay bridge, and a search continues for the second.
Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, both 27-year-old Bangladeshi doctoral students at the University of South Florida (USF), were reported missing by a family friend on April 17 after no one could reach them. They had last been seen the previous day near the university campus in Tampa.
Limon was spotted around 9 am at his off-campus home, roughly three blocks from campus, while Bristy was last seen about an hour later. When a family friend failed to reach either of them the following day, campus police were alerted. On Friday, Limon’s body was found on the Howard Frankland Bridge in Tampa. Bristy has not yet been found.
Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, a former USF student who had shared a flat with Limon, has been charged with two counts of first-degree premeditated murder with a weapon in connection with the deaths of both students.
He was taken into custody on Friday morning. Before his arrest, Abugharbieh had been interviewed at least twice by investigators. He had initially cooperated with authorities but stopped doing so during a second round of questioning on Thursday. By Friday, police said they were able to link him to the case and to Limon’s body.
His arrest was not straightforward. Abugharbieh barricaded himself, prompting a SWAT team and crisis negotiators to be deployed. Footage from the scene shows an armoured vehicle parked outside as he emerged through the front door with his hands raised and a bath towel tied around his waist.
The home where he was arrested was the same property a judge had previously barred him from entering, following domestic violence allegations made by his own brother.
Court records show that Abugharbieh was arrested twice in 2023 on battery charges, both of which were later dropped. Following one of those incidents, his brother sought a court injunction to keep him away from the family home, alleging that Abugharbieh had attacked him and their mother during an argument.
Abugharbieh had studied at USF between 2021 and 2023, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in management, according to a university spokesperson.
In addition to the murder charges, he faces allegations of unlawfully moving a body, failing to report a death with intent to conceal, tampering with physical evidence, false imprisonment and battery.
For the families, the uncertainty has been difficult. Limon’s brother described the wait for information as overwhelming.
“It’s devastating for us. We are becoming numb. Anything could be possible. We just want to know the truth about what happened to them. It’s not possible that two students disappear out of nowhere,” he told CNN.