Ex-USF Student Charged With Murder in Deaths of Two Bangladeshi Doctoral Students

A former University of South Florida student has been charged with two counts of premeditated first-degree murder in the deaths of his roommate and the roommate's girlfriend — both doctoral students from Bangladesh who vanished from the Tampa campus earlier this month, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said Saturday.

Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, was ordered held without bond at an initial court appearance Saturday in Tampa. A hearing is set for April 28.

The victims, Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, were both 27 years old and had been considering marriage, a relative said. They disappeared April 16. Limon was last seen at the off-campus apartment he shared with Abugharbieh. Bristy was last seen an hour later at a campus science building where she studied chemical engineering. Limon's remains were recovered Friday morning on the Howard Frankland Bridge. Bristy has not been found.

Abugharbieh, a native-born U.S. citizen, was taken into custody Friday at his family's home north of the campus after officers responded to a domestic violence report. He barricaded himself inside and refused to surrender. A SWAT team deployed drones, a robot, and crisis negotiators before he emerged wearing only a blue towel with his hands raised. Preliminary charges included unlawfully moving a dead body, failure to report a death, tampering with evidence, false imprisonment, and battery. Murder charges were upgraded Saturday. Online court records do not list an attorney for him.

University records show Abugharbieh enrolled at USF from spring 2021 through spring 2023, pursuing a bachelor's degree in management. He was not enrolled at the time of the killings. Limon was studying geography, environmental science, and policy. Bristy was a Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering and a graduate of Noakhali Science and Technology University in Bangladesh.

"Her sudden passing has deeply saddened all of us," Noakhali Vice Chancellor Mohammad Ismail said in a statement Saturday. "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."

The case has unsettled communities among the roughly four thousand international students enrolled at Florida's public universities in the Tampa Bay region, including students from South Asia who have enrolled in STEM programs at Indian River State College in Fort Pierce and Florida Atlantic University's Treasure Coast campuses. These communities rely on close-knit housing networks near campus. Hillsborough County Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer confirmed Friday that investigators are still actively searching for Bristy's remains.

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