April 25 (UPI) — A man was charged Saturday for the murders of two missing University of South Florida doctoral students after the body of one of them was found.
Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, has been charged with two counts of first-degree, premeditated murder with a weapon in the deaths of the two students: Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, both 27. The pair, both from Bangladesh, had been missing for a week.
Abugharbieh and Limon were roommates. Bristy lived separately on campus. A USF spokesperson said Abugharbieh is not enrolled at the university, but he studied business management there from spring 2021 to spring 2023, The New York Times reported. Abugharbieh is an American-born citizen.
Limon’s body was found on the Howard Frankland Bridge in Tampa Friday. Bristy has not been found, but divers have been searching the waters near where Limon’s body was found. The bridge connects Tampa and St. Petersburg across Old Tampa Bay.
“Evidence was presented to the State Attorney’s Office, resulting in further charges against Abugharbieh. At this time, the search for Bristy continues,” the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said.
Abugharbieh is also facing charges of unlawfully moving a dead body, failure to report a death with intent to conceal, tampering with physical evidence, false imprisonment and battery, the sheriff’s office said.
“This is a deeply disturbing case that has shaken our community and impacted many who were hoping for a safe resolution,” said Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister on Friday.
Abugharbieh was a person of interest before Friday, but then police were called to an unrelated domestic violence call at a home north of campus on Friday morning. When they arrived, he had barricaded himself in the home and refused to come out.
A SWAT team, bomb disposal team and crisis negotiation team arrived on the scene. Police took Abugharbieh into custody around 10:30 a.m. Police shared a video of him leaving the house with a towel around his waist, surrendering.
Bristy’s brother told CNN that investigators told her family in Bangladesh that they believed she may be dead because of the amount of blood found in Limon and Abugharbieh’s apartment.
Limon and Bristy were reported missing by a family friend on April 17.
Limon had attended USF since fall 2024 to study geography and environmental science and policy, and Bristy has attended USF since fall 2025 to study chemical engineering, said USF President Moez Limayem in a statement.
“Please join me in praying for the families and friends of Zamil, and for the safe return of Nahida,” Limayem said.
Limon’s cause of death wasn’t immediately clear, but autopsy results are expected Saturday, a sheriff’s department spokesperson said.
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