Nahida Sultana Bristy, one of the two Bangladeshi doctoral students at the University of South Florida who were murdered in the United States, has begun her final journey for home in coffin.

An Emirates flight carrying her mortal remains departed from Orlando International Airport in Florida at 8:50pm local time on Thursday.

The flight will transit through Dubai. From there, flight EK 0582 is scheduled to land at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 8:40am on Saturday.

A representative of the Bangladesh Consulate in Miami was present at Orlando Airport and oversaw the repatriation process, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday night.

Since April 16, two days after the disappearance of Bristy and another Bangladeshi student Jamil Ahamed Limon, the Bangladesh Consulate in Miami, under the directives of the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC, has remained in constant contact with the investigating police, university authorities, and members of the Bangladeshi community in Tampa, it said.

The relevant local police department also worked in coordination to complete all necessary legal formalities and ensure the earliest possible repatriation of the body, the ministry said.

The embassy has also been in contact with the US Department of State and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Following the advice of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the embassy completed the entire process related to sending the body back to Bangladesh.

Earlier, the first namaz-e-janaza for Bristy was held in Tampa, Florida on Wednesday.

Many students and teachers from the University of South Florida, along with members of the Bangladeshi community, attended the prayer.
Meanwhile, Limon was laid to rest in Madarganj upazila of Jamalpur on May 4. His body reached the country on the same day.

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.

On May 1, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office confirmed the identification of the second body as Bristy’s.

The suspect was arrested days after the incident by a SWAT team at his parents’ home. A court ordered that he be held without bond.