US4 min(s) read
Published 16:31 04 May 2026 GMT
The body of a missing university student has been discovered stuffed inside a trash bag on the Tampa shoreline, just days after her partner was found dead in similar circumstances on a nearby bridge.
Nahida Bristy and Zamil Limon, both 27-year-old doctoral students at the University of South Florida, had been missing since April 26 when Limon's body was first discovered in a trash bag on the Howard Frankland Bridge.
Bristy's body was confirmed by Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister at a press conference on Sunday (May 3) to have been found in similarly horrifying circumstances by a fisherman.
A man has been charged in connection with both deaths.
According to Sheriff Chronister, the discovery was made by a man who had been kayak fishing with a friend in waters near Tampa.
One of the kayakers' fishing lines became caught on something in the water. As the man approached to free it, he noticed an overpowering smell.
"He has to go further into the mangroves," Chronister told reporters at the press conference. "He smells something as he describes as indescribable, and when he went and got closer to removing his fishing line, he sees that a plastic bag has been opened, there's been saltwater in there, he can't tell what it is, but it looks like a human body."
The fisherman called police. Bristy was later identified through forensic examination, with the arrest affidavit noting her remains were in an "advanced stage of decomposition."
"We have located Nahida Bristy. We have contacted her family," Chronister said. "We are now actively working to release both bodies for religious reasons back to the families who live in Bangladesh."
Nahida Bristy and Zamil Limon, both originally from Bangladesh, had been pursuing doctoral studies at the University of South Florida in Tampa.
The couple were last seen on April 26.
According to court filings, on the day they disappeared they had been given a ride from Tampa to Clearwater by Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, who was Limon's roommate at the time and a former USF student himself.
Later that same day, prosecutors allege Abugharbieh purchased trash bags and cleaning supplies. Location data is also said to show him driving to the Howard Frankland Bridge and stopping along it.
Limon's body was discovered on the bridge a week later.
Investigators allege both victims had been stabbed multiple times. According to Sheriff Chronister, Limon had been "left on the side of the highway like a piece of trash."
The motive remains under investigation.
Hisham Abugharbieh has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the deaths and remains in custody pending trial.
Prosecutors have argued he should not be granted bail due to what the sheriff described as the "brutal and violent nature" of the alleged crimes.
He has not yet entered a plea.
Sheriff Chronister did not hold back at Sunday's press conference, describing the suspect as "pure evil."
"The details of this investigation are gruesome, and the actions of the suspect are nothing short of pure evil," he said.
Abugharbieh is presumed innocent unless and until convicted.
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Bristy's brother Zahid Pranto paid an emotional tribute to his sister following the news of her death.
"She was the perfect sister. She was the perfect daughter of her family," he said.
He added that Bristy had dreamed of returning home to Bangladesh after completing her doctorate to "do something big and contribute to society."
The University of South Florida has not yet released a formal statement, but the deaths have shaken the campus community and the wider Bangladeshi student diaspora in the United States.
It's the latest in a string of tragedies to hit US university campuses in recent months, and one that has left two grieving families in Bangladesh waiting for their children to be brought home.
Now, the focus turns to the courts, where Abugharbieh is set to face trial for both deaths.
