What are the charges against Hisham Abugharbieh? What to know as Florida student found dead; another remains missing
A man named Hisham Saleh Abugharbieh is facing charges after his roommate, a missing University of South Florida doctoral student, was found dead. Abugharbieh was arrested on Friday, April 24, after a domestic violence incident at the residence, law enforcement said, according to NBC News.
Zamil Limon and Nahida S. Bristy, two doctoral students at the school, were both reported missing, the school’s police department said in a statement. The 27-year-olds from Bangladesh were last seen about a week ago.
Limon’s body was found Friday morning on the Howard Frankland Bridge in Tampa, Florida, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said at a news conference. An autopsy is being performed to determine the cause of death.
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Bristy is still missing. An investigation into his death is underway.
What are the charges against Hisham Saleh Abugharbieh?
Abugharbieh is facing charges of domestic violence, simple battery, false imprisonment, tampering with evidence, failure to report a death and unlawfully holding or moving a dead body, Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer said.
Around 9 am local time on Friday, the sheriff’s office received a domestic violence call at the home of the suspect, Maurer said.
When deputies arrived, they demanded that the suspect come out. Family members at home managed to leave safely. A SWAT team had to be called to the scene 20 minutes later after the suspect refused.
The SWAT team also asked the suspect to come out. After he did, he was taken into custody.
Abugharbieh, who was not a current USF student, had been enrolled from spring 2021 through spring 2023, the school said. He was pursuing a bachelor of science in management.
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Limon was a doctoral student who was pursuing a degree in geography, environmental science and policy. According to police, he was last seen at 9 am on April 16 in his Tampa residence.
Bristy, who is studying chemical engineering, was last seen on April 16 at 10 am in the Natural and Environmental Sciences Building on the USF Tampa campus, police said. The USFPD processed her missing person report.
A family friend reported last Friday, just before 5 pm, that they were unable to contact both Limon and Bristy. This triggered missing person reports, and police subsequently entered both Limon and Bristy into missing person databases.
Zahaid Hasan Pranto, 29, Bristy’s older brother, told NBC News the two students had a romantic relationship in the past. However, they were not actively dating.