Roommate Charged with Murdering Two USF Doctoral Students in Tampa Home

Two Students Who Trusted Their Home

Zamil Limon, 27, a Bangladeshi doctoral student at the University of South Florida, was last seen on the morning of April 16, 2026, at the home he shared with his roommate approximately three blocks from the USF Tampa campus. His friend and fellow doctoral student Nahida Bristy, also 27 and Bangladeshi, was last seen later that same morning at the university’s Natural and Environmental Sciences building. Neither returned.

Days after they disappeared, Limon’s body was recovered from the Howard Frankland Bridge in Tampa. Bristy has not yet been found, though investigators have recovered additional human remains in the search area south of the bridge. Hisham Abugharbieh, 26 – Limon’s roommate – was arrested on April 25 and charged with two counts of first-degree premeditated murder with a weapon. He has not been convicted.

What Prosecutors Say the Evidence Shows

The prosecution’s case draws on a specific and damaging chain of digital and physical evidence. Prosecutors allege that on the night of April 13 – three days before the victims were last seen – Abugharbieh searched an AI chatbot for information about how to dispose of a human body. A receipt recovered from the shared apartment, dated April 16, lists trash bags, cleaning supplies, and air freshener among the purchases.

Limon’s death was ruled a homicide by the medical examiner. Autopsy findings described multiple sharp-force injuries, including a deep stab wound to the lower back that penetrated his liver. Abugharbieh was taken into custody on April 25 after emerging from his residence and was charged that same day. In addition to the two murder counts, he faces charges of unlawfully moving a dead body, failure to report a death with intent to conceal, tampering with physical evidence, false imprisonment, and battery.

Who Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy Were

Both victims were described by colleagues as promising researchers – graduate students in the middle of doctoral programs that had brought them from Bangladesh to Florida. Those who knew them say the two had grown close over time, developing a friendship that had deepened into something more significant in recent months. That closeness, and their shared connection to the USF research community, made their disappearance deeply felt across the campus.

Limon was a direct member of Abugharbieh’s household. Bristy was his friend and frequent visitor. Both were present at the home on the morning of April 16, according to prosecutors, and neither was seen alive after that.

The Home That Was Supposed to Be Safe

For international students far from their families, a shared apartment near campus often functions as a primary community anchor – a space of routine, trust, and proximity to daily academic life. Abugharbieh had attended USF between 2021 and 2023, giving him a prior connection to the campus environment that Limon now called home.

The allegation that a roommate planned and executed the deaths of two people inside that shared space represents a specific violation of trust: the home as a setting for violence carried out by someone allowed inside it. The digital evidence prosecutors describe – including the ChatGPT search three days before the killings – suggests, if accurate, a level of premeditation that investigators say makes this a first-degree case.

A Search That Is Not Over

As of this writing, Nahida Bristy’s remains have not been officially identified. Investigators continue to work the recovery area south of the Howard Frankland Bridge and have said they are working to identify additional remains. Her family, still in Bangladesh, has been in contact with both law enforcement and university officials as the investigation continues.

Hisham Abugharbieh remains in custody. No trial date has been set. The University of South Florida has not publicly commented on the circumstances surrounding Abugharbieh’s prior enrollment. For the Bangladeshi doctoral community at USF, and for the families of both Limon and Bristy, the case remains far from over.

References: Roommate charged with killing two University of South Florida doctoral students | Roommate of slain USF student is charged with two counts of murder