One of Two Missing USF Doctoral Students Is Found Dead, Officials Say

A former student at the University of South Florida has been charged with the murder of two doctoral students at the school, one of whom was his roommate, the authorities said on Saturday.

The doctoral students, Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, both 27, were reported missing shortly after they were last seen in the Tampa area on April 16.

Mr. Limon’s body was found on Friday morning on the Howard Frankland Bridge in Tampa, about 20 miles southwest of his home near the university’s campus, said Joseph Maurer, a chief deputy of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office on Friday.

The sheriff’s office on Saturday said that it had charged Mr. Limon’s roommate, Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Mr. Limon and Ms. Bristy.

Mr. Abugharbieh was arrested on Friday in connection with the disappearances, the authorities said, and charged with unlawfully holding or moving a dead body, failure to report a death, tampering with evidence, false imprisonment and battery.

The sheriff’s office said that the murder charges came after it presented evidence to the Florida State Attorney’s Office, and that it would not comment further. On Friday, Deputy Maurer said the motive for the killings was not immediately clear.

The sheriff’s office said on social media on Friday that its marine and dive teams were searching for Ms. Bristy in the waters off the Howard Frankland Bridge, which carries Interstate 275 across Old Tampa Bay between St. Petersburg and Tampa.

She lived on the university’s campus, though not with Mr. Limon and Mr. Abugharbieh.

“This is a deeply disturbing case that has shaken our community and impacted many who were hoping for a safe resolution,” said Chad Chronister, the Hillsborough County sheriff, on Friday.

Mr. Abugharbieh is not currently enrolled at the university, but he studied business management there from spring 2021 to spring 2023, a spokeswoman said.

Around 9 a.m. on Friday, the sheriff’s office responded to a domestic violence call involving Mr. Abugharbieh at a home north of the university’s campus, just under a mile and a half from where Mr. Limon was last seen.

When the authorities arrived, Mr. Abugharbieh had barricaded himself inside and refused commands to come out, Deputy Maurer said.

After about 20 minutes, a SWAT team, a bomb disposal team and a crisis negotiation team were called to the scene, the sheriff’s office said. Mr. Abugharbieh was taken into custody around 10:30 a.m. Video shared on social media by the authorities showed Mr. Abugharbieh leaving a home and surrendering to armed officers, his arms up and a towel wrapped around his waist.

The sheriff’s office had identified Mr. Abugharbieh as a person of interest before responding to the domestic violence call, and investigators had previously interviewed him about the disappearances of the two students, Deputy Maurer said.

Mr. Abugharbieh ended a follow-up interview with investigators on Thursday, Deputy Maurer said.

The cause of Mr. Limon’s death was not immediately clear. Autopsy results were expected on Saturday, Deputy Maurer said.

The Pinellas County Medical Examiner’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday afternoon.