Bangladeshi students' murders in US: Second body confirmed as Bristy, repatriation underway

Authorities in Florida have confirmed that the second recovered body is that of Nahida Sultana Bristy, said Golam Mortoza, press minister at the Bangladesh Embassy in the United States, in a WhatsApp message today (1 May).

Florida police contacted Bristy's brother to confirm the identification, he said.

The family has requested that arrangements be made to send her body back to Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Embassy in Washington, DC, in coordination with the Bangladesh Consulate in Miami, has begun the process of repatriating the body.

Meanwhile, the body of Zamil Ahamed Limon, one of the two Bangladeshi students killed in the United States, will arrive in Dhaka on 4 May.

Golam Mortoza said the mortal remains will reach Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 8:40am on an Emirates flight. A funeral home has received the body and will be transported from Orlando via a flight departing at 8:50pm on 2 May, through Dubai.

Limon's first namaz-e-janaza was scheduled to be held after Johr prayers on Thursday at the Islamic Society of Tampa Bay Area in Florida, he added.

Limon and Bristy, both 27-year-old doctoral students from Bangladesh, disappeared on 16 April. Limon was last seen at the 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 the bridge where Limon's body was found on April 24. Limon had numerous stab wounds and appeared to be bound, according to a report filed by prosecutors.

Authorities later recovered another body from a nearby waterway on 26 April, which has now been confirmed as Bristy.

The suspect was arrested days after the incident by a SWAT team at his parents' home. A court ordered that he be held without bond.

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 pursue capital punishment.

When questioned days after the couple 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.