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The Hillsborough State Attorney's Office formally submitted a notification this Friday to request the death penalty against Hisham Saleh Abugharbieh, 26 years old, accused of murdering two doctoral students from the University of South Florida (USF) who were originally from Bangladesh.
According to NBC Miami, the notification was issued one day after a grand jury in Hillsborough County handed down a formal indictment against Abugharbieh with seven charges: two counts of first-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence, two counts of illegal transportation of human bodies, and two counts of failure to report deaths.
The victims are Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, both 27 years old. Limon was pursuing a doctorate in geography, environmental science, and politics, while Bristy was studying chemical engineering.
The two disappeared on April 16: Limon was last seen in the apartment he shared with Abugharbieh, and Bristy in a science building on campus.
The body of Limon was found on April 24th under the Howard Frankland Bridge, wrapped in black garbage bags, with multiple stab wounds and seemingly tied up. A kayaker discovered Bristy's body two days later in waters near the same bridge, when his fishing rod got caught on a bag.
The court documents reveal meticulous planning of the crimes.
On April 13, three days prior, Abugharbieh consulted ChatGPT about how to dispose of a body in black garbage bags, whether someone could survive a gunshot to the head, and if neighbors could hear gunshots.
On the night of April 16, a witness saw him moving cardboard boxes with a cart towards the residential complex's garbage compactor.
In that compactor, the agents found the wallet, the university ID, the credit card, the glasses, and clothes with Limon's blood, in addition to Bristy's pink phone case.
A receipt from a CVS pharmacy at 10:47 PM that same night records the purchase of garbage bags, disinfectant wipes, and air freshener. The geolocation data from the accused's phone places him on the Howard Frankland Bridge that night.
In the apartment, the detectives found traces of blood leading from the kitchen to Abugharbieh's bedroom, with the carpet soaked. In Limon's bedroom, they discovered Bristy's university ID and credit cards.
The Prosecutor's Office stated that "the evidence would demonstrate that Hisham Abugharbieh used a sharp instrument to fatally wound Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy multiple times, causing their deaths."
The fourth subject was arrested on April 24 after barricading himself in his family's home and then surrendering peacefully to a SWAT team. He remains in custody without the right to bail.
The mother of the accused, Haya Abugharbieh, told investigators that her son "was known to have difficulty controlling his anger and had been violent with the family in the past."
Court records also show a protection order filed in 2023 by his own brother, along with criminal records for domestic violence in the same year.
In Florida, first-degree murder with premeditation is a capital offense that can result in the death penalty or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Defense attorney Jennifer Spradley, from the Tampa Public Defender's Office, has declined to comment on the case.
The formal reading of charges is scheduled for May 18, after which the Prosecutor's Office has 45 days to formally notify the death penalty to the court.
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