THE deranged roommate of a murdered doctoral student has been described as an unpleasant housemate who would have sudden outbursts of rage, the victim’s brother revealed.
Zubaer Ahmed told The U.S. Sun his brother, Zamil Limon, filed a complaint against his housemate, Hisham Abugharbieh, about two weeks before the unhinged 26-year-old allegedly killed his studious sibling.
“He often mentioned about Hisham previously that he is very unpleasant, unsocial, and he often does not come out of his room,” Ahmed, Limon’s younger brother, told The U.S. Sun from his home in Bangladesh.
“That’s what he shared with me. He has anger issues. He often [had] outbursts from anger, from silly mistakes, silly issues as well.”
Ahmed added that two weeks before his brother went missing, Limon and his other roommate, Rashid, filed a complaint with the complex authority at Avalon Heights, where the two shared an apartment with Abugharbieh.
The younger brother said he did not have additional information regarding the specifics of the complaint but said no action was taken.
Avalon Heights did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The U.S. Sun.
Ahmed blasted the off-campus housing facility’s seeming lack of properly vetting their residents, underscoring Abugharbieh’s criminal history.
“His roommate [Hisham] has some criminal record past. He has a case [for] domestic violence from his own brother.
“And his own brother requested police or court to save them from his brother.”
The suspect’s brother, Ahmad, broke his silence over the weekend and acknowledged that his elder relative should not have been living with housemates.
“I didn’t know he had a roommate. He should’ve lived on his own or been homeless,” Ahmad told CBS News.
In 2023, Abugharbieh was charged with two battery charges in relation to an incident involving his brother, who ultimately decided to drop the crimes.
“I dropped them because I thought it was going to cost me a lot of money,” Ahmad said, adding, “I regretted that choice immediately after.”
Ahmad was granted a protective order against his older brother that same year.
In his protective order filing, Ahmad alleged that his brother “repeatedly punched him in the head, ripped his shirt and made him bleed” and caused bruises on his face.
On another occasion, Ahmad alleged that his brother tore up the family’s entire living room after a short argument with their mother.
Ahmed, Limon’s brother, said it was deeply frustrating to know that Abugharbieh’s criminal record seemingly went unnoticed by the housing authority at Avalon Heights.
“We international students do not have that much time, or students in general have not much capability to check background of every roommate,” Ahmed told The U.S. Sun.
“So, it’s often [the] duty of complex authority to provide information or background of who they are living with.”
Hisham Abugharbieh was arrested in dramatic fashion on Friday at his family’s home in Tampa, Florida, after authorities alleged he killed his roommate Limon and the victim’s friend, Nahida Bristy, both 27.
Aerial footage captured a bare Abugharbieh exiting his family’s home in nothing but a blue towel wrapped around his waist as a heavily-armed SWAT team was stationed outside.
Limon and Bristy, who were close friends and international doctoral students at the University of South Florida, were last seen minutes apart on April 16.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said Limon, who was pursuing a degree in geography, environmental science, and policy, was last seen leaving his home at around 9am.
Around the same time, witnesses told authorities that they saw Bristy, who was pursuing a degree in chemical engineering, on campus at the National & Environmental Science building.
Ahmed, Limon’s younger brother, believes his older sibling met up with Bristy before they went missing.
Sheriff’s officials said Limon’s residence was about a 10-minute drive from the NES building where Bristy was last seen.
Ahmed told The U.S. Sun that although his brother and Bristy were not officially dating they were very close and had conversations about a future together.
“They were close friends for sure, but you have to understand from [a] Bangladesh perspective, they are close friends and they have feelings for each other for certain time,” Ahmed added.
“And they are talking to each other whether they can have a future together, but they are not officially dating.
“My brother spoke about Nahida, like she is one of his close friends at USF and she is very kind and always put a smile on his face always.
“She has a lot of extracurricular activities like she can cook well, she can sing and so on. We got a very positive vibe from him about Nahida.”
Limon’s remains were located on Friday morning under the Howard Frankland Bridge.
Court documents reveal Limon died from multiple stab wounds.
A second set of human remains were found in the waterways of Tampa Bay near the Howard Frankland Bridge on Sunday.
The remains have not been identified.
Prosecutors said Abugharbieh allegedly asked ChatGPT questions about how to dispose of a body in the days leading up to Bristy and Limon’s disappearances.
On April 13, Abugharbieh allegedly asked the AI chatbot what would happen if someone was “put in a black garbage bag and throw in dumpster.”
The AI chatbot responded that it “sounds dangerous,” prompting Abugharbieh to allegedly ask, “How would they find out,” according to court documents.
Abugharbieh was charged with two counts of premeditated first-degree murder with a weapon.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/16286141/usf-students-zamil-limon-nahida-bristy-family-speaks/