Prosecutors in Florida have announced they will seek the death penalty for a man accused of murdering two University of South Florida doctoral students from Bangladesh. The Hillsborough State Attorney's Office filed a notice to pursue capital punishment on Friday, a day after a grand jury indicted 26-year-old Hisham Saleh Abugharbieh on two counts of first-degree murder and additional charges.
The victims, Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, both 27-year-old PhD students from Bangladesh, disappeared on April 16. Limon was last seen at the off-campus apartment complex he shared with Abugharbieh, while Bristy was last seen at a campus science building. Abugharbieh was arrested approximately one week later and has remained in custody. Jennifer Spradley, a public defender in Tampa, stated that her office would not comment on the case.
According to prosecutors, detectives used cellphone location data and license plate reader information to track Abugharbieh's vehicle and Limon's phone to a bridge where Limon's body was discovered on April 24. Limon had sustained multiple stab wounds and appeared to have been bound. A kayaker found Bristy's body in nearby water two days later.
When detectives interviewed Abugharbieh and another roommate several days after the victims went missing, they noticed a bandage on Abugharbieh's pinky finger. He denied any involvement in Limon's disappearance. During a separate interview, the suspect's mother, Haya Abugharbieh, disclosed that her son had struggled with anger management and had a history of violence toward family members.
An apartment manager granted investigators access to the apartment and Limon's locked bedroom. The third roommate told detectives that Abugharbieh had used a cart overnight on April 16 to move cardboard boxes from his room to the trash compactor. There, detectives found Limon's wallet, campus ID badge, credit card, eyeglasses, and clothes that appeared to be bloodstained.
After obtaining a search warrant, detectives discovered blood residue leading from the kitchen to Abugharbieh's bedroom, as well as blood that had soaked his bedroom carpet. In Limon's bedroom, they found Bristy's campus ID and credit cards. The case continues as prosecutors pursue the death penalty.
