The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office announced this morning the suspect in the case of two USF doctoral students' disappearance has now been charged with two counts of first degree murder in the deaths of Nahida Bristy and Zamil Limon. They were both 27-years-old.
The sheriff's office said evidence presented to the State Attorney’s Office resulted in the additional charges against the suspect already in custody, 26-year-old Hisham Saleh Abugharbieh.
According to Hillsborough court records Abugharbieh faced a burglary charge in 2023 as well as two domestic violence charges that same year. A judge granted an injunction in one domestic violence case and denied the other petition. He also was accused of traffic violations. The AP reports court records show he entered into a diversion program for first-time offenders charged with misdemeanors. He completed the program in 2024 and the charges were discontinued. A phone call to his lawyer in that case was not immediately returned to the AP.
HCSO said Limon's body was found Friday afternoon on the Howard Frankland Bridge. They're still searching for Bristy.
University of South Florida President Moez Limayem said
investigators previously noted the incidents occurred off campus, and that Abugharbieh acted alone.
"There is no ongoing threat to the safety of the university community," Limayem said in a statement. "Abugharbieh was born in the United States and is a citizen. He is not a current USF student or employee."
He added Bristy attended USF beginning in fall 2025 to study chemical engineering and Limon attended since fall 2024 to study geography and environmental science and policy.
They were a couple from Bangladesh, and both attended USF on student visas. They were last seen on April 16 at USF's campus in Tampa, according to a statement from the University of South Florida Police Department.
Anyone with information regarding Nahida Bristy's disappearance is asked to contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at (813) 247-8200.
