Police in Florida have identified the second recovered body as Nahida Sultana Bristy, a student at the University of South Florida.
Bristy’s brother was informed over the phone by Florida police that the body was hers. The Bangladesh Embassy in Washington confirmed the development on Friday.
According to the embassy, Bristy’s family has requested that her body be repatriated to Bangladesh. The embassy has already initiated the process through the Bangladesh Consulate in Miami.
Authorities said Bristy’s identity was confirmed through DNA testing after her remains were recovered from a Tampa waterway near the Howard Frankland Bridge.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said at a press conference that the body was found floating in a plastic bag after a fisherman’s line became entangled with it, reports the New York Post.
“We have located Nahida Bristy. We have contacted her family,” he said, adding that efforts are underway to release the bodies to their families in Bangladesh in accordance with religious practices.
“We were able to confirm DNA, some dental work that she had done, and the clothing that she still had on from the video that we saw,” he added.
Bristy’s remains were discovered on Sunday, not far from the body of her 27-year-old boyfriend, Zamil Limon, which had been recovered five days earlier in a black trash bag.
According to police, a kayaker fishing with a friend discovered the body in a mangrove area.
“He smells something as he describes as indescribable,” Chronister said. “When he went closer to remove his fishing line, he saw a plastic bag… it looked like a human body. He contacted law enforcement.”
Investigators said Limon appeared to have been stabbed multiple times and was found bound at the hands and ankles.
Hisham Saleh Abugharbieh, Limon’s roommate and a former USF student, has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the deaths.
Both Bristy and Limon, Bangladeshi doctoral students, had been missing since April 16. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the recovery of Limon’s body on April 24 near the same bridge.
Limon’s body is scheduled to be sent to Bangladesh on May 2 via Orlando International Airport and is expected to arrive in Dhaka on May 4 via Dubai.