One of two missing University of South Florida doctoral students has been found dead and a roommate has been named as a suspect in the case. Authorities confirmed that Zamil Limon’s body was discovered on a bridge in Tampa, while the second student, Nahida S Bristy remains missing.
Zamil’s room mate Hisham Saleh Abugharbieh has been arrested and faces multiple charges including tampering with evidence, failure to report a death and unlawfully moving a dead body.
Who is Nahida S Bristy?
Nahida S. Bristy is a 27-year-old doctoral student from Bangladesh who is studying chemical engineering at the University of South Florida in Tampa. She was working on her PhD at the Natural and Environmental Sciences Building on the campus, where she was last seen on April 16 at around 10am local time, according to the University of South Florida Police Department, as per NBC News.
Her family says she is a serious and dedicated student. Missing classes for several days is very unusual for her, according to The Independent.
Her family in Bangladesh also told NBC News that it is not like her to suddenly stop contacting loved ones. “The students’ families said they would never go offline or willingly disappear.”
Bristy’s older brother, Zahaid Hasan Pranto who is 29 also told NBC News that she and Zamil Limon had a relationship in the past but were not currently dating.
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Their families also said they had talked about a possible future together. “Another important point is that they talked about having a future together, but they are not that serious about it,” Limon’s younger brother, Zubaer Ahmed, told FOX13. “Both of them are thinking about whether we can marry together, and they are discussing that.”
What we know about the case?
Both Nahida S. Bristy and Zamil Limon went missing within an hour of each other on April 16. Limon was last seen around 9am local time at his apartment on Avalon Heights Boulevard which is close to the University of South Florida campus, while Bristy was seen about an hour later on campus, according to the USF Police Department.
A family friend reported them missing the next day on April 17, just before 5pm local time after not being able to contact them. Which led to separate missing person reports and a wider search by the University of South Florida Police Department and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office.
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USF Public Safety Public Information Officer Larry McKinnon earlier told FOX13, “Everybody internally is obviously very concerned, as we are concerned. It’s not typical of their behavior, they’re graduate students.” He added, “When we get to this point where we aren’t having success in locating them, then our next best source is the public. That’s where we are at.”
An autopsy is now being done to find out how Limon died, as per CNN. Meanwhile, Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer said that the investigation into Bristy’s disappearance is still ongoing.
