Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy
Chhabed Sathee: Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister has provided a ‘gruesome’ update in the case involving the killing of two Bangladeshi PhD students from University of South Florida who had gone missing in the Tampa area of Florida, United States.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister confirmed Friday that human remains were found near a Tampa Bay area bridge on Sunday belonging to Nahida Bristy, 27.
Bristy and her boyfriend, fellow doctoral student Zamil Limon, also 27, were last seen on April 16 in Tampa.
Limon's body was discovered April 24 on the Howard Frankland Bridge.
His roommate, Hisham Saleh Abugharbieh, 26, was arrested that same day and has been jailed since then on two counts of first-degree premeditated murder with a weapon.
Another black trash bag was spotted nearby two days later. The bag was tied in a knot, like was the case with Limon's.
Two kayakers fishing in the area found Bristy's remains when one of fishing lines snagged on the bag, which they said had an 'indescribable' smell.
'When he (the kayaker) went and got closer to remove his fishing line, he sees that a plastic bag has been opened,' Chronister said. 'There's been saltwater in there [and] he can't tell what it is, but it looks like a human body.' Chronister said Bristy's family has been contacted and that arrangements would be made to return her remains to them.
'We are now actively working to release both bodies for religious reasons back to the families who live in Bangladesh,' Chronister said at the presser.
Limon and Bristy were Muslim, according to the University of South Florida's Muslim Student Association.
Chronister said that Bristy's remains had been identified using DNA technology.
'We were able to confirm DNA, some dental work that she had done and the clothing that she still had on from the video that we saw,' he said.
Chronister said he hoped family members would 'get some semblance of comfort and peace now knowing what happened ... and that they are returning home to be buried by their loved ones.'
Before Bristy's remains were identified, investigators had noted that the body in the bag was in an 'advanced stage of decomposition,' according to an arrest affidavit cited by CNN.
The body sported 'similar clothing based on the unique style that Nahida Bristy was last seen on video surveillance,' the affidavit said.
Bristy was a chemical engineering doctoral student and lived on campus. Investigators had called Bristy's family in Bangladesh last Friday to say they believed he was dead, WTSP reported.
Bristy's brother, Zahid Hasan Pranto, said law enforcement came to this conclusion due to 'the volume of blood' found at the shared apartment.
Pranto had said the missing pair had been in a romantic relationship but were not dating when they disappeared.
The university previously confirmed that Abugharbieh was enrolled at USF from spring 2021 through spring 2023 and was not an active student.
Abugharbieh had given Limon and Bristy a ride from Tampa to Clearwater on the last day they were last seen alive, per court documents cited by NBC News.
He initially denied having the pair in his car, but admitted to it after being shown data that Limon's phone had been in Clearwater.
Abugharbieh bought trash bags, Lysol wipes and Febreze air freshner that same night, according to investigators.
Location data showed Abugharbieh drove to the Howard Frankland Bridge in Tampa the next day and stopped along the bridge.
Abugharbieh's roommate told investigators that he had seen him moving cardboard boxes to a dumpster at their apartment complex. DNA testing on a kitchen mat matched Bristy's, and items belonging to Limon's student ID and credit cards were found in the dumpster.
Abugharbieh had also allegedly asked ChatGPT on April 13: 'What happens if a human is put in a black garbage bag and thrown in a dumpster?'
He was arrested April 24 at a home in Tampa, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
The accused murderer barricaded himself inside the residence, prompting specialized units, including Special Weapons and Tactics forces, to be deployed.
Abugharbieh was taken into custody, with video footage of the arrest showing him stumbling out of the home with his hands up and wearing only a blue towel.
He was charged with unlawfully holding or moving a dead body, failure to report a death to authorities, evidence tampering, false imprisonment and battery
Abugharbieh was denied bond on Tuesday morning, though he did not appear physically in court, according to NBC Miami.
Jennifer Spradley, an attorney in the Hillsborough County public defender's office, told the outlet on Monday that her office would not comment on the case.
He is currently being held at the Falkenburg Road Jail in Tampa, according to Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office records.
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