Updated April 25, 2026
A 26-year-old man has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder after two University of South Florida doctoral students went missing last week, authorities said Saturday. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said evidence presented to the state attorney led to criminal charges against Hisham Abugharbieh, who lived with one of the victims, Zamil Limon.
Abugharbieh faces accusations including premeditated murder with a weapon as well as multiple related charges. He appeared in a Tampa courtroom shackled and wearing a protective gown; he is being held without bond and is due back in court Tuesday for a pretrial hearing.
Deputies took Abugharbieh into custody Friday — the same day Limon was discovered dead. Sheriff’s officials said Limon’s remains were found on the Howard Franklin Bridge Friday morning; an autopsy is pending to determine his cause of death. Deputies arrested Abugharbieh after responding to a domestic violence call at a home in the Lake Forest Community, a neighborhood near USF’s Tampa campus. Witnesses reported he emerged from the residence shirtless and wearing only a bath towel.
Investigators told the family of the other missing student, Nahida Bristy, that they believe she is likely deceased based on the large volume of blood found at the shared residence, officials said. Bristy’s brother, Zahid Prato, said the family’s home has been shattered by the news and that they were told her body may never be recovered; police have said Bristy might have been dismembered. Authorities are continuing to search for Bristy.
In addition to the murder counts, Abugharbieh faces charges including battery, false imprisonment, tampering with evidence, failure to report a death, and unlawfully moving a body.
Friends and acquaintances said Limon had previously expressed concerns about his roommate. A 2023 protective order obtained by local media included an allegation from Abugharbieh’s brother that he would sometimes scream at night claiming he was God and demanding others bow to him.
Limon and Bristy, both 27, were last seen in the Tampa area on April 16. Limon was pursuing a doctorate focused on using artificial intelligence in environmental science and had been scheduled to present his thesis this week, his family said. Bristy was a doctoral student in chemical engineering.
Meg Oliver contributed to this report.