Authorities in Hillsborough County said a former University of South Florida student has been charged in the deaths of two doctoral students from Bangladesh who disappeared earlier this month, as investigators continue searching for one of them.
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, was charged with two counts of premeditated murder in the first degree with a weapon in the deaths of Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy. The charges followed Abugharbieh’s arrest and an initial court appearance in Tampa, where authorities said he was ordered held without bond, with a hearing set for April 28.
The sheriff’s office said Limon’s remains were found on the Howard Frankland bridge on Friday morning. Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer said on Friday that Bristy remained missing.
The AP previously reported that the search continued after Limon’s remains were found, as investigators sought information about Bristy’s disappearance as the case unfolded.
Investigators said officers encountered Abugharbieh when they responded to a domestic violence report at his family’s home just north of the USF campus. Authorities said they moved his relatives to safety before Abugharbieh barricaded himself inside and refused to come out. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said a SWAT team responded, along with a drone, a robot and crisis negotiators, before Abugharbieh came out with his hands up, apparently wearing only a blue towel.
The sheriff’s office said both Limon and Bristy, 27, were missing after disappearing from campus on April 16. Authorities said Limon was last seen at his off-campus apartment complex home where he lived with Abugharbieh, and Bristy was last seen about an hour later at a campus science building. A USF spokesperson said Abugharbieh was a former student who was not currently enrolled, and university records showed he attended from Spring 2021 through Spring 2023, pursuing a BS in Management.
USF said Limon was studying geography, environmental science and policy, while Bristy was studying chemical engineering. The university said Bristy was a graduate of Noakhali Science and Technology University, and it said it spelled her last name as Brishti in earlier materials. The university also said Bristy was a Ph.D. candidate and described her as a talented and promising student.
USF said Vice Chancellor Mohammad Ismail told the university community: “Her sudden passing has deeply saddened all of us,” adding, “The university family pays deep respect to her memory. At the same time, we demand punishment for those involved in her death and compensation for the victim’s family.” University officials said the search for Bristy continues and asked anyone with information about her disappearance to contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities said Abugharbieh was initially taken into custody on preliminary charges that included unlawfully moving a dead body, failure to report a death, tampering with evidence, false imprisonment and battery. Online court records, according to the report, did not list an attorney for him; messages were sent to the Hillsborough County public defender’s office.
The sheriff’s office said Abugharbieh had several previous arrests. It said he was charged with battery and burglary of an unoccupied dwelling in September 2023, and with battery the following May—both recorded in court records as misdemeanors. Court records cited by authorities said he entered a diversion program for first-time offenders charged with misdemeanors, completed it in 2024, and that the charges were discontinued. The report said a phone call to his lawyer in that case was not immediately returned, and court records also showed two domestic violence petitions filed by a family member in 2023, with a judge granting an injunction in one case and denying the other.