USF Student Killings: Nahida Bristy’s Brother Says Family Has Been Told She Is Likely Dead — Remains May Never Be Recovered
[UPDATE — 12:53 AM EDT, April 25, 2026]
Nahida Bristy’s brother, Zahid Hasan Pranto, has revealed that investigators contacted their family in Bangladesh late Friday night with devastating news — authorities now believe the 27-year-old doctoral student is dead. According to Pranto, investigators cited the substantial quantity of blood discovered inside the apartment shared by fellow missing student Zamil Limon and primary suspect Hisham Abugharbieh as the basis for that conclusion. The family was further told that her remains may never be recovered and that her body may have been dismembered.
TAMPA, Fla. — The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that the remains of missing University of South Florida doctoral student Zamil Limon were recovered Friday morning from the Howard Frankland Bridge, and that a suspect is now in custody in connection with the case.
Pinellas County deputies arrived at the Howard Frankland Bridge at approximately 6:15 a.m. Friday, where they spent several hours recovering the body of the 27-year-old researcher, causing significant traffic disruption on the bridge spanning Tampa Bay.
Roughly two and a half hours later, at around 9:00 a.m., Hillsborough County deputies were dispatched to the Lake Forest residential neighbourhood in Tampa — located approximately one mile from the USF main campus — in response to a reported domestic violence incident.
Law enforcement arrived already aware that the address belonged to the family of 26-year-old Hisham Abugharbieh, the primary suspect in this case and the former roommate of Zamil Limon.
Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer stated that deputies successfully secured the safe evacuation of Abugharbieh’s family members from the residence. However, Abugharbieh himself refused to comply with officers’ commands and remained barricaded inside the home for approximately 20 minutes before a SWAT team was called in.
The SWAT unit deployed to the scene at 10:36 a.m. Shortly thereafter, Abugharbieh walked out of the home without resistance and was taken into custody.
Abugharbieh now faces the following charges, with additional charges pending the outcome of the autopsy:
• Domestic violence — simple battery
• Domestic violence — false imprisonment
• Tampering with evidence
• Failure to report a death to law enforcement
• Unlawfully retaining or transporting a human body under unapproved circumstances
Chief Deputy Maurer told reporters that investigators currently have no reason to believe Abugharbieh had any accomplices.
“Right now, we don’t have any inclination to think that he was working with anybody else,” Maurer said.
The search for the second missing USF doctoral student, Nahida S. Bristy, 27, remains ongoing.
“We are still actively searching for Nahida. If you have any tips of where you’ve seen her or if she was just recently seen, please report it to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office immediately so we can recover her to safety,” the chief deputy urged.
Investigators are continuing to question Abugharbieh as they work to establish a motive behind the alleged crimes.
Zamil Limon was a doctoral candidate in the department of geography, environmental science, and policy at USF.
Nahida Bristy was pursuing her doctorate in chemical engineering. She was last reported seen on the morning of April 16 at approximately 10:00 a.m. inside the NES building on the USF campus.
📞 Anyone with information on Nahida Bristy’s whereabouts is urged to contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office immediately at:
813-247-8200
© 2026 Deshi Tribune | Reported by Ariana Zaman. All content independently written. This report does not reproduce copyrighted material.
