The disappearance of two Bangladeshi doctoral students from the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, has now turned into a brutal double murder investigation.
The body of Jamil Limon has been recovered near the Howard Frankland Bridge, and his death has been officially ruled a homicide. Nahida Sultana Brishti remains missing, and investigators say there is no evidence indicating that she is still alive.
Jamil’s roommate, Hisham Saleh Abugharbieh, has been arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. During a court hearing on Saturday, a judge ordered that he be held without bond until his next hearing on Tuesday.
Details emerging from court documents paint a chilling sequence of events. After Jamil and Brishti went missing on Thursday, April 16, investigators quickly focused on Abugharbieh. On April 17, when a friend went to Jamil’s Avalon Heights apartment looking for him, the roommate claimed he did not know Jamil’s whereabouts and noted that Jamil’s scooter was still at the apartment.
A friend of Brishti reported speaking with her at 11:30 a.m. and again at 2:14 p.m. on April 16. During the second call, Brishti asked the friend to bring her glasses. The friend waited at 5:00 p.m., but Brishti never showed up.
Facebook Messenger records retrieved from Brishti’s iPad show that she and Jamil were sharing their locations. At 12:41 p.m., Brishti called Jamil. At 2:39 p.m., a message was sent from Brishti’s account to Jamil, though the language and context remain unclear. Additional calls were made at 2:42 p.m. and 2:52 p.m.
Surveillance footage from the USF campus shows Brishti leaving her office building at 12:08 p.m., and at 12:09 p.m. she is seen walking with an umbrella. That same umbrella and the shoes she was wearing were later found inside Jamil’s apartment, indicating she had gone there that day.
Location data from Jamil’s phone shows the device remained near his residence or campus between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. At 7:43 p.m., it moved toward the Courtney Campbell Causeway and by 8:25 p.m. was located in Clearwater. Records also show that Abugharbieh’s white Hyundai Genesis G80 was on the causeway at 7:53 p.m.—within minutes of the phone’s last known signal.
Investigators observed a cut on Abugharbieh’s left pinky finger, which he claimed occurred while cutting onions, though he could not explain what he had been cooking. A fresh wound was also found on his left arm, covered with a bandage.
A CVS receipt recovered from a dumpster outside the apartment showed purchases made at 10:47 p.m. on April 16, including trash bags, Lysol wipes, Febreze, Funyuns, and body wash. Pieces of duct tape containing white tissue and traces of blood were also found. While the roommate stated these items had been delivered by Abugharbieh, the suspect denied purchasing them.
A search of the apartment complex’s trash compactor yielded disturbing evidence: a blood-stained black cushion kitchen floor mat, cookware, Jamil’s USF ID, credit cards, wallet, torn and blood-soaked clothing, socks, sandals, Jamil’s glasses, and Brishti’s light pink iPhone case.
Forensic testing matched DNA on the black mat to Brishti and DNA on a gray T-shirt to Jamil.
Inside the apartment, blood traces were found leading from the kitchen to Abugharbieh’s bedroom. The carpet showed two distinct human-shaped blood patterns with clear signs of smearing and dragging. Three rolls of heavy-duty black trash bags were found under the bed.
One of the most alarming findings came from the suspect’s phone. On April 7, he ordered duct tape from Amazon. On April 11, he ordered fire starters, charcoal, trash bags, and lighter fluid. On April 15—one day before the killings—he ordered a fake beard.
On April 13, he asked the AI chatbot ChatGPT what would happen if a human body were placed in a black trash bag and disposed of. When warned that the scenario sounded dangerous, he responded, “How would they know?” In subsequent searches, he asked about changing a car’s VIN, possessing a firearm without a license, whether a person could survive a sniper shot to the head, and whether neighbors would hear gunfire. At
12:26 a.m. on April 17—after the killings—he searched whether vehicles are checked at Hillsborough River State Park.
Phone location data shows that at 1:04 a.m., he left the apartment. At 1:30 a.m., he stopped on the Howard Frankland Bridge, moved west at 1:35 a.m., turned around on Roosevelt Boulevard, stopped again eastbound at 1:46 a.m., and resumed driving at 1:49 a.m. He returned to the apartment at 2:09 a.m.
On April 24, during a search of the bridge, authorities recovered a heavy black trash bag emitting a strong odor of decomposition. The bag matched those found in the suspect’s room. Inside were human remains later identified as Jamil Limon, in an advanced state of decomposition. The cause of death was determined to be multiple sharp-force injuries,
and the manner of death was ruled homicide.
Nahida Sultana Brishti has not yet been found. Court documents state there is no evidence suggesting she is alive.
In a statement, the University of South Florida said it is “heartbroken by the tragic loss of our students Nahida Brishti and Jamil Limon. Our hearts are with their families and friends.”
The Bangladeshi community in the United States and back home is in deep shock and mourning. Two young scholars who came to pursue their dreams and doctoral studies have had their lives cut short in a horrific manner.
Repatriation of Jamil Limon’s body to Bangladesh may take some time. The Press Minister at the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington, Golam Mortoza, said authorities are in constant communication with relevant agencies. The body remains in police custody pending the completion of investigative procedures. The Government of Bangladesh has indicated it will bear the cost of returning the body.
Search efforts for Brishti continue. Authorities have not yet disclosed the motive or the exact circumstances of the killings. However, investigators have formally filed two counts of murder, indicating they are treating both deaths as confirmed homicides.
