A dramatic standoff unfolded when a suspect, clad only in a towel, barricaded himself inside a home. This intense encounter with the SWAT team came after the disappearance of the two doctoral students from the University of South Florida. On Saturday, the suspect, Hisham Abugharbieh, was charged with two counts of murder.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office announced that Abugharbieh, 26, is now facing two first-degree murder charges, accused of premeditated killings with a weapon in the deaths of Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy.

“Evidence was presented to the State Attorney’s Office, leading to additional charges against Abugharbieh,” the sheriff’s office revealed. “To maintain the investigation’s integrity, we will not comment further on the case details.”

Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy were last seen separately on April 16 in Tampa, Florida, according to a statement from the University of South Florida Police Department released on April 21.

The search for Bristy is ongoing, authorities confirmed. They urge anyone with information about her disappearance to contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at (813) 247-8200.

Abugharbieh was initially arrested on Friday on charges of unlawfully holding or move a dead human body in unapproved conditions, failure to report death to medical examiner or law enforcement (intent to conceal), tampering with physical evidence, false imprisonment, battery. 

Authorities discovered human remains near the Howard Frankland Bridge. They were positively identified Friday as belonging to Limon. Bristy’s body remains missing as of Saturday.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

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