Body of Bangladeshi student Limon, murdered in Florida, arrives home

The body of Zamil Ahmed Limon, a Bangladeshi PhD student murdered in the US state of Florida, has arrived in Bangladesh. The aircraft carrying his remains reached Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 8:47 am today, Monday.

In a statement, the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington said Limon’s body was sent from Orlando International Airport in Florida on an Emirates flight at around 8:50 pm local time on Saturday.

Earlier, his funeral prayers were held on Thursday at around 2:00 pm local time at an Islamic society in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. Students from the University of South Florida and members of the Bangladeshi community attended the prayers.

Limon, 27, was pursuing a PhD in geography, environmental science and policy at the University of South Florida. He went missing on 16 April. Nahida Sultana Bristy, also 27, went missing at the same time. A friend later informed the university authorities.

Hisham Abugharbieh, a US citizen and Limon’s roommate, was arrested from his family home on suspicion of involvement in the killings. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said that following questioning of Abugharbieh, Limon’s mutilated body was recovered on 24 April from several black garbage bags in the Howard Frankland Bridge area of Florida.

According to court documents, Limon’s body was unclothed and bore multiple stab wounds. Abugharbieh has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the incident. The charges also state that a weapon was recovered from him. He had been living with Limon as a roommate.

Two days after Limon’s body was recovered, on 26 April, several fishermen kayaking in a mangrove area spotted a black plastic bag near the location where his body had been found, close to the Howard Frankland Bridge.

Police responded and discovered dismembered human remains inside the bag. However, the condition of the remains made identification difficult. At a press briefing on 30 April, the Hillsborough County Sheriff confirmed that the recovered body parts belonged to Bristy.