Prosecutors reveal details in killing of missing USF student Zamil Limon

What began as a missing-person search for two 27-year-old University of South Florida doctoral students has escalated into a homicide investigation spanning Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, with prosecutors now saying Zamil Limon was killed by multiple sharp-force injuries and that evidence pointed to his roommate.

Limon and Nahida Bristy, both from Bangladesh, were last seen on April 16. Limon was last seen around 9 a.m. at his Tampa residence, while Bristy was last seen around 10 a.m. at the Natural and Environmental Sciences Building on USF’s Tampa campus. Police were not notified until 4:50 p.m. on April 17, after a family friend could not reach either student. Investigators later said the case widened into a multi-jurisdictional effort as they searched for both students.

On April 24, deputies recovered human remains in the water near the Howard Frankland Bridge, and those remains were identified as Limon’s body. Authorities said the recovery prompted further searching in the bridge area with marine and dive teams while the search for Bristy continued. Prosecutors and investigators later tied the death to evidence in the case file, including traces of blood found in the off-campus apartment Limon shared with Hisham Abugharbieh.

Abugharbieh, 26, was charged with two counts of first-degree premeditated murder with a weapon in the deaths of Limon and Bristy. He also faced charges of unlawful moving or holding of a dead body, failure to report a death, tampering with evidence, false imprisonment and battery. Records cited in reporting say he attended USF from spring 2021 through spring 2023 and studied business and management, but he was not currently enrolled. Court-filing reporting also said investigators found that Abugharbieh searched ChatGPT about what would happen if a person were put in a black garbage bag and thrown into a dumpster.

Deputies responded at 9:09 a.m. on April 24 to a domestic-violence call at Pine Glen Circle in the Lake Forest community. Abugharbieh barricaded himself inside before surrendering about 10:30 a.m. to a response that included SWAT, the Bomb Disposal Team, the Crisis Negotiations Team and the Drone Response Team. He was held without bond after his first court appearance, with another hearing set for April 28.

The case has shaken the USF campus as finals and graduation approach. USF President Moez Limayem thanked law enforcement and said the campus was praying for the students’ families. The University of Chittagong described Bristy, a Ph.D. candidate, as a promising student, while relatives told reporters Limon and Bristy had been considering marriage.