The roommate of a slain University of South Florida doctoral student was charged with murder Saturday as the search for another missing student continues.
Subscribe to read this story without ads
Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.
Hisham Abu Ghabhiyeh, 26, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon in the deaths of Zamir Rimon and Nahida Bristi, U.S. Forces Japan students, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. Mr. Abugarbi and Mr. Limon were roommates.
Authorities said Limon’s body was discovered on Friday on the Howard Frankland Bridge in Tampa, Florida, and Abugarbi was arrested. Bristi remains missing.
On Tuesday, the USF Police Department reported two doctoral students at the school, Limon and Bristi, missing.
At the time of his arrest on Friday, Abu Gharbi had already been charged with domestic violence, simple assault, false imprisonment, tampering with evidence, failure to report a death, and unlawful storage or removal of a corpse.
Murder charges can carry the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
“Evidence has been submitted to the State Attorney’s Office and further charges have been filed against Mr. Abugarbi,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement, declining to comment further.
The 26-year-old suspect was enrolled at USF from spring 2021 to spring 2023, but is no longer enrolled, according to the university. While attending school, Mr. Abugarbi was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
Limon and Bristi were last seen on the morning of April 16. The two were initially reported missing last week, officials said.
Bristi’s brother, Zaheid Hasan Plant, 29, told NBC News that his sister and Limon had been in a relationship in the past, but they were not dating at the time of her disappearance.
The student’s family also told NBC News that it was disrespectful that they had not heard from Limon and Bristi, who have family in Bangladesh.
