A man arrested after a standoff with police has been charged with the murders of two Bangladeshi doctoral students who vanished from the University of South Florida campus in mid-April.
Hisham Abugharbieh faces two counts of premeditated first-degree murder with a weapon in the deaths of Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office announced Saturday. Abugharbieh lived as a roommate with Limon in an off-campus apartment.
Limon's remains were discovered Friday morning on the Howard Frankland Bridge spanning Tampa Bay. Bristy has not been found, but investigators presented evidence to the state attorney's office that led to Abugharbieh being charged in her death as well.
Both victims were 27. Limon studied geography, environmental science and policy. Bristy was pursuing a degree in chemical engineering and lived on campus. The two were a couple and had discussed marriage, according to a family member.
They disappeared on April 16 after Limon was last seen at the apartment he shared with Abugharbieh and Bristy was spotted an hour later at a campus science building. A family friend notified authorities the following day when neither could be reached.
Abugharbieh's arrest came after officers responding to a domestic violence report at his family's home, located near campus, engaged in negotiations with him. He barricaded himself inside and refused to emerge before eventually walking out with his hands raised, reportedly wearing only a blue towel. Police deployed a tactical team, drone, robot and crisis negotiators during the standoff.
Initially arrested on preliminary charges including unlawfully moving a body, failure to report a death, tampering with evidence, false imprisonment and battery, Abugharbieh was booked with murder charges after investigators interviewed him further. The sheriff's office declined to discuss specifics, citing the ongoing investigation's integrity.
Abugharbieh had attended USF from 2021 to 2023 pursuing a bachelor's degree in management but was no longer enrolled at the time of his arrest, a university spokesperson confirmed. He is a U.S. citizen.
Court records reveal a history of legal trouble. Abugharbieh faced battery and burglary charges in September 2023 and a separate battery charge in May 2023, both classified as misdemeanors. He may have entered a diversion program. Additionally, two domestic violence petitions filed by a family member in 2023 resulted in one judge granting an injunction while denying the other petition.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister called the case "deeply disturbing" and acknowledged its impact on the community. "While the discovery of Zamil Limon's remains is heartbreaking, I want the public to know that our detectives worked and are working tirelessly and relentlessly to uncover the truth," he said.
An autopsy on Limon was being conducted to determine cause and manner of death. Abugharbieh is considered the sole suspect in the case, which attracted national media coverage following reports of the disappearances.
Author James Rodriguez: "A roommate living steps from campus turns out to be something far darker, and the chilling speed from disappearance to murder charges raises hard questions about what investigators saw in those first interviews."
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