TAMPA, Fla. — The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) said on Friday that the remains found on April 26 were identified as those of the missing USF student, Nahida Bristy.
During a news conference held on May 1, Sheriff Chad Chronister laid out the timeline of this case. Tampa Bay 28 reporter Annette Gutierrez attended to get all the updates. And you can watch the news conference on the Tampa Bay 28 website and Facebook page.
“While this identification brings answers, it also brings immense sorrow. Nahida Bristy and Zamil Limon were not only students, they were driven, accomplished individuals destined and deserving of great futures,” Sheriff Chronister said.
Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, both 27-year-old doctoral students from Bangladesh, were last seen on April 16.
HCSO said they began their investigation at Limon's apartment in Avalon Heights. Zamil has two other roommates — one was cooperative, the other — Hisham Abugharbieh was not.
Investigators said he had a history of complaints.
"There were several complaints made to the apartment complex because of his pattern of behavior being disturbing and the and the comments that he would make," Sheriff Chronister said.
About a week later, on April 23, Sheriff Chronister said they had their first big break in the case when detectives found items with Limon's blood insdie a dumpster near his apartment complex. That's when HCSO elevated the status of their case to missing endangered.
From there, detectives get a search warrant to investigate further, and inside Limon's apartment, they found blood in the kitchen and inside Aburgharbieh's bedroom.
"We can see the outline of a human being on the floor next to our suspect's bed where it was curled up in a fetal position," Sheriff Chronister said.
In the search of his car, authorities said they find Bristy’s blood as well.
HSCO detectives said Aburgharbieh's purchase history revealed that he ordered large contractor bags, wipes, lighter fluid, and a lighter.
Detectives also found a disturbing search history on the suspect's phone, before the two students vanished.
"He searches for, can a knife penetrate a skull? Can a neighbor hear a gunshot? ... Can you bury a body in a trash bag and throw it in a dumpster?," Sheriff Chronister said.
Deputies said his phone also revealed his location history which ultimately led detectives to Limon's body.
The following day, on April 24, Limon's remains were found inside a black back along on the Howard Frankland Bridge. The sheriff said he was found stabbed to death with his hands and ankles bound together. Through a fingerprint match, detectives identified the remains as those of Limon.
The sheriff said he was found stabbed to death with his hands and ankles bound together.
"His legs up towards his buttocks area was almost completely severed, so he could be bent together to make it easier to place in a trash bag," Sheriff Chronister said.
He added on saying, "As gruesome as this murder was, he was literally left on the side of the highway like a piece of trash."
On that same day, the suspect's family calls 9-1-1 for a domestic violence incident in Lutz, which is when Aburgharbieh is taken into custody.
On Sunday, HCSO said says kayakers found human remains inside a black bag in the mangroves, around the same area they found Limon.
In a criminal report affidavit, a body found on April 26, just south of the Howard Frankland Bridge, was clothed in attire matching what Bristy was last seen wearing on surveillance footage. "It should be noted that the body was clothed in similar clothing based on the unique style that Nahida Bristy was last seen in on video surveillance," it said.
On Friday, Sheriff Chronister said because of the state of Bristy's body, they had to wait for dental records and DNA to positively identify her, which they did on April 30.
"To have to make contact with their families to tell them that their loved ones are missing to call them back later again and tell them that we found them, but they're deceased and then describe some details that they wanted to know how they were killed because they were stabbed as many times as they were. It goes against every grain that Americans stand for," Sheriff Chronister said.
Investigators are still working to determine whether they were murdered at the same time.
When Gutierrez asked how Bristy ended up at Limon's apartment, Sheriff Chronister responded saying, "They were communicating through Facebook messenger. And we have those messages back and forth, so that's what leads US to believe that they were together at some point."
The sheriff said detectives are still working to determine a motive.
As for the Bristy and Limon, their bodies are heading back to their home country of Bangladesh for religious reasons, so their families can properly say goodbye to them.
Limon's roommate, 26-year-old Hisham Abugharbieh, is being charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a weapon in the deaths of Limon and Bristy.
This is still an active investigation, with developing details.
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