a man named Hisham Saleh Abu Habi He faces charges after his roommate, a missing doctoral student at the University of South Florida, was found dead. According to NBC News, law enforcement said Abuhabiya was arrested after a domestic violence incident at his residence on Friday, April 24.
Zamir Limon and Nahida S. BristiBoth doctoral students at the school were reported missing, the school’s police department said in a statement. The two 27-year-old men from Bangladesh were last seen about a week ago.
Limon’s body was found Friday morning on the Howard Frankland Bridge in Tampa, Florida, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. An autopsy is ongoing to determine the cause of death.
Bristi is still missing. An investigation into his death is ongoing.
What are the charges against Hisham Saleh Abuharbieh?
Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer said Abuhabiya faces charges of domestic violence, simple battery, false imprisonment, tampering with evidence, failure to report a death and unlawful possession or removal of a corpse.
Maurer said the Sheriff’s Office received a domestic violence call at the suspect’s home around 9 a.m. local time on Friday.
When deputies arrived, they asked the suspect to come out. The family at home managed to get out safely. After 20 minutes, a SWAT team had to be called to the scene because the suspect refused.
The SWAT team also asked the suspect to come out. He was detained after the incident.
Abugharbieh is not a current student at USF and will be enrolled from spring 2021 to spring 2023, the school said. He is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in management.
Limon is a doctoral student pursuing a degree in geography, environmental science and policy. He was last seen at 9 a.m. April 16 at his residence in Tampa, according to police.
Bristi, who is studying chemical engineering, was last seen at 10 a.m. on April 16 in the Natural and Environmental Sciences Building on USF’s Tampa campus, police said. The U.S. Marshals Service handled her missing persons report.
Just before 5pm on Friday, a family friend reported that they were unable to reach Limon and Bristi. That sparked a missing persons report, and police later entered both Limon and Bristi into a missing persons database.
Bristi’s 29-year-old brother, Zahaid Hasan Pranto, told NBC News that the two students had been in a relationship in the past. However, they are not actively dating.
