University of South Florida Student Found Dead; Girlfriend Remains Missing

Authorities in Hillsborough County confirmed on Friday the discovery of the body of Zamil Limon, a 27-year-old doctoral student from the University of South Florida (USF). Limon's body was found beneath the Howard Frankland Bridge, while his girlfriend, Nahida Bristy, also 27 and studying at the same university, is still missing.

According to a report from Telemundo 51, both students, who hail from Bangladesh, were last seen on April 16 in the Tampa area. Limon was last seen at approximately 9:00 a.m. at his residence on Avalon Heights Boulevard, while Bristy was spotted around 10:00 a.m. at the Natural and Environmental Sciences building on the USF campus.

However, it wasn't until April 21 that their disappearance was publicly reported when family members and friends notified authorities after being unable to contact them for several days, describing this as highly unusual for the two postgraduate students.

From the outset, both of their phones were turned off, and there was no activity on social media or any bank transactions.

On April 23, the Hillsborough County Sheriff escalated the case to an endangered persons status, intensifying the search operation across Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

Arrest and Investigation Developments

As part of the ongoing investigation, authorities arrested Hisham Saleh Abugharbieh, a 26-year-old roommate of Limon, who is not a USF student. The arrest followed a domestic violence call at a residence located in the 14000 block of Pine Glen Circle within the Lake Forest community, near the campus.

Abugharbieh barricaded himself in the home before eventually surrendering peacefully to SWAT teams, crisis negotiators, and a bomb squad around midday.

The charges against him include unlawful disposal of a human body, failure to report a death with intent to conceal, tampering with physical evidence, false imprisonment, and assault in a domestic violence context.

Search Efforts and Missing Person Details

The investigation led to a partial closure of the Howard Frankland Bridge, an essential structure linking Tampa to St. Petersburg across Tampa Bay, where crucial evidence was gathered. This evidence was processed at a Pinellas County Sheriff's facility in St. Petersburg.

Bristy, a doctoral candidate in chemical engineering, left behind her laptop, tablet, handbag, and lunchbox in the lab on the day she disappeared. However, her wallet and phone remain missing. She also missed a scheduled class at 3:00 p.m. and a planned grocery store visit on the same day.

Zubaer Ahmed, Limon's younger brother, expressed deep distress over the situation: "We are suffering immensely and going through a devastating ordeal." Ahmed described the disappearance as highly suspicious and out of character.