TAMPA, Fla. — The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) said human remains have been found of one of the USF students, and a suspect is in custody.
The suspect, 26-year-old Hisham Abugharbieh, is linked to the two missing University of South Florida-Tampa students.
HCSO said Friday afternoon its marine and dive teams are searching near the Howard Frankland Bridge for missing USF grad student Nahida Bristy.
Officers encountered Abugharbeih as they responded to a report of domestic violence at his family’s home, just north of the campus, and were able to remove his relatives to safety. But then he barricaded himself inside and refused to come out. A SWAT team responded, along with a drone, a robot and crisis negotiators, before Abugarbeih came out with his hands up, apparently wearing nothing but a blue towel.
WATCH press conference with HCSO:
HCSO holds press conference on missing USF student, suspect in custody
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said human remains were found on the Howard Frankland Bridge and have been identified as missing USF grad student Zamil Limon.
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Abugharbieh was Limon’s roommate.
He was arrested on multiple charges, including domestic violence, simple battery, false imprisonment, tampering with evidence, failure to report a death, and moving a dead body.
Watch arrest video of Abugharbieh, Limon’s roommate
Hisham Abugharbieh arrest video
Hisham Abugharbieh is expected to have his first court appearance on April 25, according to the 13th Judicial Circuit.
Tampa Bay 28 is showing Abugharbieh’s mugshot due to the nature of the case as officials continue their search for Nahida S. Bristy, who remains missing.
On the morning of April 24, the entrance and exit of the Lake Forest Community at the intersection of Bruce B. Downs and Lake Forest Drive was shut down due to a police investigation.
Bristy and Limon are both international doctoral students from Bangladesh who went missing the morning of April 16 in Tampa.
Limon was reportedly last seen at his apartment at Avalon Heights around 9 a.m., and Bristy was last seen around 10 a.m. at the Natural and Environmental Science building on the USF campus, where flyers about the missing students are now posted.
On April 17, around 5 p.m., a family friend notified USFPD after being unable to contact both people, and a missing person report was filed.
On April 23, HCSO elevated the status of their case to endangered.
Abugharbeih had been a USF student but was not currently enrolled. University records showed he had attended the school from Spring 2021 through Spring 2023, and had pursued a BS in Management, a university spokeswoman said.
Abugharbeih also had several previous arrests, the sheriff’s office said. He was charged with battery and burglary of an unoccupied dwelling in September 2023, and with battery that May — both classified in court records as misdemeanors. Court records show Abugharbeih may have entered into a diversion program. A phone call to his lawyer in that case was not immediately returned.
Hillsborough County Court records also showed two domestic violence petitions filed by a family member in 2023. A judge granted an injunction in one case and denied the other petition. He also was accused of traffic violations.
If you have any information, you can also contact the HCSO at (813) 247-8200.
This is a developing story. Tampa Bay 28 reporter Jada Williams is covering it all and she will provide more details as they become available.
Tampa Bay 28 Mugshot Policy
When a mugshot is used
If the person is still on the loose and a potential threat to the community; if there is a good chance that showing the suspect would help identify additional victims or otherwise protect the public from a serious threat or if the crime or the suspect is of such a significant note that seeing them in a mugshot is in the greater public interest.
Using previous mugshots
Only if the story is specifically talking about that previous crime
We do not show mugshots of victims
This policy started in early 2021
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