In a significant hearing at Hillsborough County Court on Monday, May 18, State Attorney Suzy Lopez formally announced that the prosecution will seek the death penalty against Hisham Abugharbieh, the man charged with the murders of two Bangladeshi PhD students at the University of South Florida — Jamil Limon and Nahida Bristi. The accused entered a not guilty plea to all seven grand jury counts through his attorney, without
appearing in court in person.
The judge has set a tentative trial date of November 3, 2027. A case review hearing is scheduled for December 10, 2026. Abugharbieh remains held without bail at Hillsborough County Jail.
Behind this legal timeline lies the story of a horrifyingly calculated double murder. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister described the killings as “pure evil” and for good reason. Investigators determined this was no act of impulse. The murders had been planned at least ten days in advance.
On April 7, Abugharbieh ordered duct tape from Amazon, an ordinary purchase on the surface, but one investigator would later identify as the first step in his preparation. On April 11, he placed further orders: fire starters, charcoal, heavy-duty trash bags, and lighter fluid. The motive behind these combined purchases was hidden in his
phone.
On April 13, Abugharbieh asked ChatGPT: “What happens if you put a person in a black trash bag and throw them in a dumpster?” The chatbot flagged it as dangerous. He also searched whether a knife could penetrate a human skull and whether neighbors would hear a gunshot.
One day before the murders, on April 15, a fake beard he had ordered arrived at his door evidence that he had planned his escape and intended to conceal his identity afterward.
At 9:00 AM on April 16, Jamil Limon was last seen alive at Avalon Heights Apartments, where he lived with Abugharbieh. At noon, surveillance cameras at USF’s Science Building captured the last known footage of Nahida Bristi. Both victims spoke with loved ones by phone that day for the last time.
Investigators believe both were killed inside the apartment that same night. At 10:24 PM, a DoorDash order was placed from Abugharbieh’s phone trash bags, Lysol wipes, Febreze, Funyuns, and Irish Spring body wash. The delivery arrived at 10:57 PM. Investigators believe these items were used to destroy evidence. At around 11:00 PM, he was seen using a shared cart to move large cardboard boxes toward the building’s trash compactor.
In the early hours of April 17 — at 12:26 AM Abugharbieh searched ChatGPT for: “Are cars inspected at Hillsborough River State Park?” Around 1:30 AM, his phone signal paused on the Howard Frankland Bridge for nearly three hours the same area where Limon’s remains would later be discovered.
On April 17, a friend of Nahida Bristi, unable to reach her by phone, filed a missing person’s report. Police launched an investigation. The following day, investigators visiting her workplace found she had left behind her lunchbox, MacBook, and iPad.
On April 23, a search of the apartment building’s trash compactor yielded Jamil Limon’s student ID, eyeglasses, a blood-soaked torn shirt, Bristi’s phone case, and a floor mat. Returning with a search warrant, investigators found blood trails running from the kitchen to the bedroom, including wet blood on the bedroom carpet. Bristi’s student ID and credit card were recovered from Limon’s room.
At 6:00 AM on April 24, the remains of Jamil Limon were found wrapped in heavy trash bags in the northbound lane of the Howard Frankland Bridge. At 9:09 AM, Abugharbieh’s brother called 911 to report a domestic violence incident. A SWAT team arrived at the scene and arrested Abugharbieh on the spot.
On May 1, a kayaker’s fishing line became tangled in a trash bag in the wetlands near the Howard Frankland Bridge in Pinellas County inside was the decomposed body of Nahida Bristi. Sheriff Chronister confirmed both deaths.
On May 18, a grand jury indicted Abugharbieh on seven counts: two counts of first-degree premeditated murder, two counts of unlawful removal of a body, two counts of concealing information about a death, and one count of tampering with evidence. The prosecution formally announced it would seek the death penalty. The families of the victims in Bangladesh are being kept updated on the case’s progress through regular Zoom calls.
Jamil Limon and Nahida Bristi both 27 years old, both gifted Bangladeshi researchers. One pursued geography and environmental science; the other was engaged in scientific research. They had come to America chasing dreams of knowledge and discovery. Those dreams were silenced by an act of unspeakable brutality. Their remains have been repatriated and laid to rest with their families in Bangladesh. Now, all those families can
do is wait — and hope for justice.
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News #2
California Mosque and Islamic School Shooting Five killed, including two teen suspects, in San Diego Mosque shooting By Deshi Tribune Desk May 19, 2026, | 1:36 AM GMT+6
SUMMARY
Mother of suspect had warned police her son fled home with stolen firearms
Target was the largest mosque in San Diego County All children at the mosque’s day school escaped unharmed Both teenage gunmen are believed to have died by self-inflicted gunshot wounds
SAN DIEGO, May 18 — Two teenage gunmen opened fire Monday at the Islamic Center of San Diego, killing a security guard and two other men outside the premises before both suspects were found dead in what authorities believe were self-inflicted shootings. San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl announced that local law enforcement and the FBI have jointly opened a hate crime investigation into the attack on San Diego County’s largest mosque. No specific motive or triggering incident has been publicly identified by authorities. All children present at the mosque’s on-site day school were confirmed
safe after the attack, which broke out at approximately 11:40 a.m. local time, officials said.
A Mother’s Warning At an evening press conference, Chief Wahl revealed that the mother of
one of the suspects had contacted police roughly two hours before the shooting, reporting that her son — whom she described as suicidal — had fled the family home with three of her firearms and her vehicle. She also told officers that her son was accompanied by another individual, and that both were wearing camouflage clothing. Police had already begun searching for the pair — dispatching patrols to a nearby shopping mall and the suspect’s high school — when reports of the mosque shooting came in. Wahl declined to reveal the contents of a note that the mother had found before making the call.
No Prior Threat Intelligence Authorities said they had received no advance warning of any specific threat targeting the mosque or any other religious institution, school, or public venue. Instead, Wahl said, officers had been dealing with what he described as “generalised hate rhetoric and hate speech” — which, combined with reports of an armed and camouflaged runaway teenager, prompted a broader threat assessment. The attack occurred just days before Eid al-Adha, one of Islam’s most significant annual observances, and ahead of the Hajj pilgrimage season to Mecca.
