As the 26-year-old suspect faces charges and is held without bond, local authorities continue to search for the other missing student.

TAMPA, Fla. — A man in Tampa is being held without bond after he was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, as the body of one of two missing students from the University of South Florida was found and authorities continue searching.

Roughly a week after the search for Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, two missing USF students began, Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, was arrested by Hillsborough County deputies. Meanwhile, Pinellas County deputies found the remains of Limon on Friday by the Howard Frankland Bridge.



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Limon and Bristy were initially reported missing after they were last seen on April 16. Limon was a doctoral student pursuing a degree in geography, environmental science and policy. Bristy is a doctoral student studying chemical engineering. She was reportedly last seen at the NES building on the USF campus.

Hillsborough County deputies arrested Abugharbieh after responding to a domestic violence call in the Lake Forest neighborhood in Tampa, located about a mile away from the University of South Florida campus. 

Deputies said they were aware that the call was at the family home of Abugharbieh, Limon’s roommate.

After Limon’s remains were found, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office deployed its marine and dive teams on Friday to search for Bristy, deputies said.

While Britsy’s body has not been found, her family told 10 Tampa Bay News they believe she is dead because of “the volume of blood” found at the shared apartment. Her brother, Zahid Hasan Pranto, says the family was told that her body may never be found and may have been dismembered. 

Jail records show that Abugharbieh is being held at the Falkenburg Road Jail without bond. He is facing multiple charges in addition to two counts of murder in the first degree, such as battery, false imprisonment and tampering with physical evidence, among others.

Authorities are asking anyone with more information on the students’ whereabouts to contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at 813-247-8200.