New Detail: Investigators say the missing USF students tried to contact friends for h3lp right before they disappeared — but…
University of South Florida students Nahida Bristy and Zamil Limon.University of South Florida
Friends of University of South Florida victims Nahida Bristy and Zamil Limon remembered the doctoral students on Tuesday as their family away from home and said they were “shocked” by their deaths.
Limon and Bristy, 27, were both from Bangladesh and had come to Tampa in 2024 and 2025, respectively, to attend the school and further their studies, their friends said. Bristy was studying chemical engineering, while Limon was studying geography, environmental science & policy.
Hisham Abugharbieh, Limon’s roommate and a former USF student, was charged last week with first-degree murder. Limon’s remains were found on Friday, while the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said it found additional remains over the weekend that it has not yet identified.
Salman Sadiq Shuvo, a USF student who got to know the pair when they arrived in Tampa, described Limon as a “modest and polite boy” with a “sweet smile,” and Bristy as a “lovely girl.”
“We are kind of a family in here,” Shuvo, who is also from Bangladesh, said about his close bond with the victims.
USF student Rifatul Islam, who also knew Bristy and Limon, described feeling “shocked” after learning of their murders at their “safe place,” the university community that they called home in the U.S.
“When we come here, back from 8,000 miles away from home, they are our family, our everything here and we meet at all the events, we have meals together, we play together,” Islam said about his friends.
Shuvo and Islam were in attendance at a court hearing Tuesday for Abugharbieh, 26, who was ordered to be held in jail with no bond pending the outcome of the case.
Abugharbieh was arrested Friday after a brief standoff at a residence in Tampa and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of storing remains in unapproved conditions, two counts of failure to report a death, battery, false imprisonment, and tampering with evidence, according to court records.
An attorney for Abugharbieh refused a request for comment on Monday.
Islam said he hopes to see justice served.
“We believe in the legal system here, we are with the legal system, we will try to be there and hopefully justice will be served, justice will be served for both of them,” Islam said.
Abiral Hasibshourav, a USF student who was also at the court hearing, spoke about how the university’s Bangladeshi community has come together in the aftermath of a tragedy. The university’s Bangladesh Student Association has served as a liaison, asking the institution for help preserving Limon’s remains in accordance with Islamic rites.
“We Bangladeshi people, we live as a family here, we share meals, we go out sightseeing, we live together,” Hasibshourav. “So, the entire Bangladeshi community is behind the BSA on this.”
In a statement, the university’s Muslim Student Association mourned the loss of Bristy and Limon, “two Muslims beloved by their community.”
“Their loss has left an unfillable void in our hearts and in our campus community,” the MSA said.
“No words can capture the depth of this loss,” the MSA said in the statement. “As a community, we are shaken, grieving, and searching for meaning in the face of such tragedy.”
Speaking after court on Tuesday, Hillsborough County State Attorney Susan Lopez told reporters that the next step is to take the case against Abugharbieh in front of a grand jury.
“Decisions will be made in the coming weeks, but we have to get through the grand jury process first and then we will determine whether or not we will seek the death penalty,” Lopez said.
