Police identify the body of 1 missing Florida student, second still missing as roommate is charged

TAMPA, Fla. -- The body of one of the two Bangladeshi doctoral students missing from the University of South Florida was found on a bridge over Tampa Bay, and a roommate has been taken into custody, law enforcement authorities said Friday.

Zamil Limon's remains were found on the Howard Frankland bridge Friday morning, but Nahida Bristy is still missing, Hillsborough County Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer said. Limon's roommate, Hisham Saleh Abugharbeih, 26, was taken into custody on preliminary charges that include domestic violence, battery, false imprisonment, tampering with evidence, failure to report a death and unlawfully moving a body, he said.

"We are still actively searching for Nahida," Maurer said, appealing to the public to share any useful information.

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 the home and refused to come out, they said. He came out peacefully after a SWAT team responded, they said.

Limon and Bristy were a couple, considering marriage, a relative said. They disappeared from campus on April 16. Limon, who was studying geography, environmental science and policy, was last seen at his home in an apartment complex where he lived with Abugharbeih. Bristy, who was studying chemical engineering and lived on campus, was last seen an hour later at a campus science building.

A family friend contacted authorities last Friday after being unable to contact either one, USF police said.

Investigators interviewed Abugharbeih, who is a native-born U.S. citizen, on Thursday, Maurer said, but Abugharbeih ended the interview after a bit. He said Abugharbeih was speaking with detectives again after his arrest Friday morning.

There are no other suspects in the investigation at this time, Maurer said.

An autopsy is being done on the remains to determine the manner and cause of Limon's death, and those results are expected Saturday morning, he said.

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.

____ This story has been updated to correct that it was Hillsborough County Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer who spoke Friday morning, not the sheriff.

___ Lauer reported from Philadelphia and Boone reported from Boise, Idaho. Associated Press reporter Michael Schneider in Orlando, Florida, contributed.