USF Roommates: Murder Charges, Missing Student

0:00Two, University of South Florida grad students when missing, and now their roommate faces two counts of first-degree murder. Zamil Lemone, a 27-year-old doctoral candidate in geography and environmental science, had his body recovered from the Howard Franklin. Bridge early Friday morning, his roommate, 26-year-old Hisham Abu Garbi, got arrested after a standoff at his family home in Tampa. Epidies pulled Lemone's remains from the water around 6.15am, causing major traffic backups. Abu Garbi a barricaded himself inside, but Swat talked him out peacefully by late morning. He was hit with initial charges like tampering with evidence, domestic battery, and mishandling a body while they waited on autopsy results. The other missing student, 27-year-old Nihida Bristi, a chemical engineering doctoral hopeful, was last seen on campus April 16th. On 10am, her family in Bangladesh got a devastating call from investigators about massive blood evidence in the shared apartment, leading them to believe she's been killed and possibly

1:04dismembered. Just before dawn on April 25th, 2026, charges against Abu Garbi a got upgraded to first-degree murder for both victims, based on evidence sent to prosecutors. Officials say he likely acted alone, and they're still grilling him for a motive. They're actively hunting for Bristi's remains, so if you've got any tips on her whereabouts, hit up Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at 8-1-3-2-4-7-8-2-0-0. This tragedy hits hard for the USF community, but the search presses on. From your city, powered by AI, this is Tampa Bay News today. I'm Corey with The Story.