A dismembered body part has been recovered around 35 kilometres (22 miles) from the site in Florida, United States, where the body of Bangladeshi PhD student Zamil Ahamed Limon was previously found.
The development was confirmed in a press release issued on Sunday (26 April, local time) by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the statement, the remains were recovered from Pinellas County, Florida, during a joint operation conducted by the Hillsborough and Pinellas County sheriff’s offices. The body part was found in a waterbody near Interstate 275 and 4th Street North.
Police said the remains are currently being held at the Pinellas County Medical Examiner’s Office, where forensic tests are underway to determine the identity. It has not yet been confirmed whether the remains belong to a male or female.
Authorities added that further details will be released after the autopsy and identification process is completed. The investigation is ongoing, and officials are also working to determine whether the remains match any missing persons reports.
Two Bangladeshi PhD students at the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa—Zamil Ahamed Limon and Nahida Sultana Brishty—went missing on 16 April. Both were 27 years old. Limon was pursuing a PhD in geography, environmental science and policy, while Brishty was studying chemical engineering.
After they could not be contacted, a family friend reported them missing on 17 April. The university police officially announced their disappearance on 21 April.
After more than a week, police recovered Limon’s mutilated body last Friday. A 26-year-old US citizen, Hisham Saleh Abugharbieh, who was reportedly Limon’s roommate, has been arrested in connection with the case.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said Limon’s body was recovered near the Howard Frankland Bridge area following the suspect’s interrogation.
The next day, Brishty’s brother confirmed her death in a Facebook post, stating that US authorities had confirmed she had been killed, although her body had not yet been recovered.
According to a CNN report, in a court filing on Sunday seeking to keep the suspect in custody before trial, police stated they believe Brishty’s body may have been disposed of in a similar manner to Limon’s.
