Killing of two Bangladeshi students in US: Limon’s body to arrive on May 4

The body of Zamil Ahamed Limon, one of the two Bangladeshi students at the University of South Florida who were murdered in the United States, will arrive in Dhaka on May 4.

Golam Mortoza, Minister (Press) at the Bangladesh Embassy in the US, said in a WhatsApp message on Thursday that the mortal remains will reach Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on an Emirates flight at 8:40 am that day.

He said Limon’s body has been received by a funeral home and will be transported from Orlando (MCO) on an Emirates flight departing at 8:50 pm on May 2.

Limon’s first namaz-e-janaza is scheduled to be held after Zuhr prayers on Thursday at the Islamic Society of Tampa Bay Area in Tampa, Florida, Golam Mortoza added.

However, no information has so far been available about the other victim, Nahida Sultana Bristy.

Limon and Bristy, both 27-year-old doctoral students from Bangladesh, went missing on April 16. Limon was last seen at an off-campus complex where he shared an apartment with murder suspect Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, and another roommate.

Detectives used cellphone location and licence plate reader data to track Abugharbieh’s car and Limon’s phone to a bridge where Limon’s body was found on April 24. He had multiple stab wounds and appeared to have been bound, according to a report filed by prosecutors.

Authorities continued searching for Bristy, and on April 26, a body was recovered from a nearby waterway. The identity has not yet been confirmed, and autopsy reports are pending, officials said.

Meanwhile, the murder suspect will remain in custody without bond, a judge ordered on Tuesday, days after a SWAT team arrested him at his parents’ home.

Hisham Abugharbieh has also been barred from contacting witnesses or the victims’ family members, Hillsborough County Judge Logan Murphy said during a brief hearing in Tampa.

According to court records, Abugharbieh faces two counts of first-degree murder with a weapon, along with other charges. He could face the death penalty if convicted, though prosecutors have not yet said whether they will seek capital punishment.

When questioned days after the pair disappeared, Abugharbieh denied involvement, though detectives noted that his pinky finger was bandaged, according to a pretrial detention report.

Investigators later gained access to the apartment with the help of the building manager. A third roommate told police that Abugharbieh had used a cart overnight on April 16 to move cardboard boxes from his room to a trash compactor.