Tyrese Haspil, a former assistant to tech mogul Fahim Saleh, was convicted of murdering his former boss in his Manhattan apartment in 2020. Prosecutors said Tyrese Haspil killed his ex-boss to cover up his theft of $400,000 from the 33-year-old businessman.
Saleh was a successful technology entrepreneur and was the CEO of Gokada, a Nigeria-based scooter startup.
The 25-year-old man was found guilty of multiple charges, including first-degree murder, grand larceny, burglary, tampering with physical evidence and concealing a body. He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison and will be sentenced on September 10.
“Tyrese Haspil tragically cut short Mr. Saleh's life, a man with deep ties to his immigrant family who pursued his passion to become a successful entrepreneur,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. “We hope the accountability shown in today's sentence will bring some comfort to Mr. Saleh's family as they continue to mourn his loss.”
According to the New York Post, Saleh was found murdered on the seventh floor of a $2.4 million high-rise apartment on East Houston Street.
Plan a murder
Tyrese Haspil's plan to steal money from his former boss, Fahim Saleh, began in 2018, but it wasn't until July 2020 that the scheme turned deadly. The New York Times reported that he embezzled money from Saleh's company to buy lavish gifts for his girlfriend.
Haspil created fake legal entities and bank accounts to funnel the stolen money through, and when Saleh discovered the thefts in January 2020, Haspil agreed to a repayment plan, but continued to steal more money through fake PayPal accounts.
Concerned that Saleh would discover more lucrative thefts, Haspil began plotting to kill him.
Tyrese Haspil's online activity showed him searching for “Fahim Saleh” and “New York tech CEO murder,” as well as “dismembered body” and “anatomical diagram of a human neck.” He also looked up architectural blueprints and searched for contractor trash bags, weapons and cleaning supplies, according to the New York Times.
Haspil had tracked Saleh's location on social media and bought clothes to hide his identity.
Execution of the murder
On July 13, 2020, Tyrese Haspil rode with Saleh in the elevator to his apartment building wearing a black plastic face shield, a baseball cap, and sunglasses. Unaware of the impending danger, Saleh joked with Haspil that he was taking COVID-19 precautions seriously. But as soon as the elevator doors opened, Haspil's attitude turned dangerous.
According to testimony, Tyrese Haspil fired a Taser at Fahim Saleh's back, immobilizing him, then pulled out a knife. Haspil then aimed and fatally shot Saleh in the neck, The New York Times reported.
The man then left the apartment, returning the next day to dismember Mr Saleh's body with an electric saw and stuffing it into plastic bags that were later found scattered around the apartment.
However, before completing his mission, he left again to buy a charger, during which time Fahim Saleh's cousin discovered the scene when he went to check on him.
Tyrese Haspil was arrested four days later at an Airbnb he'd booked for his girlfriend's birthday celebration.
The defendant's public defender argued that he killed his former boss because of his “extreme emotional instability” and “unconditional love” for his girlfriend, and that he reportedly feared she would leave him if she found out he had embezzled money from her boss.
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