One of two missing University of South Florida doctoral students found dead and a roommate has been named a suspect

By Isabel Rosales, Jason Morris, Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN

(CNN) — A missing University of South Florida doctoral student was found dead Friday on a Tampa Bay bridge and his roommate was arrested as a suspect, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said.

Two Bangladeshi doctoral students, Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, had been missing since last week. But Limon’s body was found Friday on the Howard Frankland Bridge, and Bristy has still yet to be found, the sheriff’s office said.

“This is a deeply disturbing case that has shaken our community and impacted many who were hoping for a safe resolution,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement.

Limon’s roommate, Hisham Abugharbieh, was arrested Friday morning after law enforcement was called to his home for a reported domestic violence incident, according to Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer.

Abugharbieh, a 26-year-old former USF student, now faces charges of battery, false imprisonment, tampering with evidence, failure to report a death, and unlawfully moving a dead body, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

Limon and Bristy, both 27, were reported missing by a family friend on April 17 after they were last seen around the university campus the previous day, according to the university’s police.

It is unclear how Limon died. A medical examiner is still determining his cause of death and may share autopsy results over the weekend, Maurer said.

As the investigation and search for Bristy continues, Moez Limayem, the university’s president, said his staff will remain in contact with the students’ loved ones to provide support.

“Please join me in praying for the families and friends of Zamil, and for the safe return of Nahida,” Limayem said in a message to faculty and students.

Roommate had been on investigators’ radar

Before his arrest Friday, Abugharbieh had been interviewed at least twice by law enforcement. He was initially talking to authorities but stopped cooperating as he was being questioned again on Thursday, Maurer said.

By Friday, the chief deputy said investigators were able to “link the suspect to this case and to (Limon’s) body.”

While Abugharbieh was not currently enrolled at the University of South Florida, he attended the school between 2021 and 2023 while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in management, a spokesperson for the university told CNN.

The students had been missing since last week, prompting friends in Florida and relatives in Bangladesh to look for answers.

Limon was last seen on April 16 around 9 a.m. at his off-campus home, about three blocks from the university’s campus, police said. He had been pursuing a degree in geography, environmental science and policy since the fall of 2024.

Bristy was last seen about an hour later at the Natural and Environmental Sciences Building on campus, police said. She enrolled at the university last fall and was studying chemical engineering.

The following day, a family friend was unable to reach the pair and notified campus police.

Detectives had been following leads and conducting searches in multiple locations when the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office elevated the pair’s status to “endangered” on Thursday, citing new “information that has come to light.”

In an email to CNN earlier on Friday, the agency refused to specify details in order “to protect the integrity of this investigation.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

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