The body of Zamil Ahamed Limon, one of the two Bangladeshi students at the University of South Florida of the US who were murdered there, will arrive in Dhaka on May 4.
Golam Mortoza, Minister (Press) at the Bangladesh Embassy in US, in a WhatsApp message on Thursday said the mortal remains will reach Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on an Emirates flight at 8:40am on the day.
He said the body of Limon have been received by the funeral home and it will be transported from Orlando (MCO) via the Emirates flight, which will depart at 08:50pm on May 2.
Limon’s first namaz-e-janaza is scheduled to be held after Johr prayers today at Islamic Society of Tampa Bay Area, Tampa in Florida, Golam Mortoza said.
However, no information has so far been available about the other victim – Nahida Sultana Bristy, he said.
Limon and Bristy, both 27-year-old doctoral students from Bangladesh, disappeared on April 16. 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 continued searching for Bristy, and on April 26 a body was recovered from a nearby waterway. The identity has not yet been confirmed, and autopsy reports are pending, officials said.
Meanwhile, the murder suspect will remain in custody without bond, a judge ordered on Tuesday, days after a SWAT team arrested him at his parents’ home.
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.