The roommate of a slain University of South Florida doctoral student was charged with murder on Saturday as the search continues for another missing student.
Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, was charged with two counts of murder in the first degree with a weapon in the death of USF students Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. Abugharbieh and Limon were roommates.
Abugharbieh was arrested on Friday after authorities found Limon’s body on the Howard Frankland Bridge in Tampa, Florida, according to authorities. Bristy remains missing.
USF’s police department reported Limon and Bristy, two doctoral students at the school, missing on Tuesday.
Upon his arrest on Friday, Abugharbieh was already facing charges of domestic violence, simple battery, false imprisonment, tampering with evidence, failure to report a death and unlawfully holding or moving a dead body.
The murder charge carries a potential sentence of death or life in prison without parole.
“Evidence was presented to the State Attorney’s Office, resulting in further charges against Abugharbieh,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement, while declining to comment further.
The 26-year-old suspect was enrolled at USF from spring 2021 through spring 2023, but was not currently enrolled, according to university. Abugharbieh was pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in management during his time at the school.
Limon and Bristy were last seen on the morning of April 16. The pair were initially reported missing last week, according to officials.
Bristy’s older brother, Zahaid Hasan Pranto, 29, told NBC News that his sister and Limon had a romantic relationship in the past, but were not dating at the time they went missing.
Family members of the students also told NBC News it was out of character not to hear from Limon and Bristy, who both have family in Bangladesh.
