Authorities charged 26-year-old Hisham Abugharbieh with two counts of first-degree premeditated murder with a weapon Saturday in the deaths of University of South Florida doctoral students Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy. Both victims, 27-year-old Bangladeshis pursuing advanced degrees, disappeared on April 16.

Limon was last seen around 9 a.m. at his off-campus apartment on Avalon Heights Boulevard near the USF Tampa campus, where he lived with Abugharbieh. Bristy, a chemical engineering student, was spotted about an hour later at the Natural and Environmental Sciences Building on campus. A family friend reported them missing the next day. Limon's remains turned up Friday morning on the Howard Frankland Bridge spanning Tampa Bay.

Abugharbieh, a former USF student who attended from 2021 to 2023 pursuing a management degree, surrendered to deputies Friday after barricading himself in his family's Lake Forest home north of campus during a domestic violence response. A SWAT team, drone, robot and crisis negotiators assisted before he emerged wearing only a towel. He faces additional charges including tampering with evidence, false imprisonment, battery, failure to report a death and unlawfully moving a body. A judge ordered him held without bond Saturday, with a pretrial hearing set for April 28.

Investigators found significant blood in the shared apartment and linked Abugharbieh to Limon's body through interviews and evidence presented to prosecutors. An autopsy on Limon is underway to determine cause of death. No motive has been released, and details on the killings remain limited to protect the probe.

The search for Bristy continues, with dive teams focusing near the bridge. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister called it a "deeply disturbing case that has shaken our community." Limon's brother Zubaer Ahmed said the family is "devastated" and seeks the truth.

USF President Moez Limayem assured the community the incidents occurred off campus, Abugharbieh acted alone and there is no ongoing threat. The university is supporting families and coordinating with Bangladeshi officials. Limon researched AI for monitoring Florida wetlands and planned to teach in Bangladesh; Bristy was remembered as talented by her alma mater's vice chancellor.

Abugharbieh has prior misdemeanor arrests for battery in 2023, later dropped, and domestic violence injunctions involving family. The case drew quick action from USF Police and the sheriff's office after the students were deemed endangered Thursday.