The tech assistant who allegedly beheaded his boss in 2020 inside his multi-million dollar home in Manhattan did so in what the prosecution has called a crime of passion, according to the Daily Mail.
Tyrese Haspil, 25, recently showed up in Manhattan Supreme Court on murder charges for the 2020 killing of Fahim Saleh. The report mentioned Saleh was reportedly dismembered by Haspil, his assistant, who stole $400,000 from the entrepreneur in the years leading up to his death.
‘[H]e was planning not only to commit the homicide but to get away with it.’
Despite carrying out the theft, Haspil was so bent on keeping his actions a secret from his girlfriend, Marine Chaveuz, that he decided to kill his boss. He feared that she would break up with him if she found out about the money he had stolen.
The report noted that Saleh’s body was discovered in his $2.4 million apartment on the Lower East Side in July of 2020. His body was discovered with no arms or legs.
The New York Post reported that Saleh was a venture capitalist and the CEO of Nigeria-based motorbike company Gokada. In January 2020, he confronted Haspil about $90,000 that had disappeared.
Even though the money was traced back to Haspil, Saleh decided not to press charges against his assistant because he considered Haspil his protege. Saleh told Haspil he could pay the money back through a payment plan.
But instead of paying the money back, Haspil continued stealing money from the company. With the threat of prosecution, Haspil decided to research how to get away with murder, according to prosecutors.
“Over this period of time, he was planning not only to commit the homicide but to get away with it …To cover it up and how to erase his debt and prevent Fahim Saleh from testifying in criminal proceedings,” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Linda Ford said in court.
Prosecutors in the case told the court about how they found a Makita saw, demolition bags containing body parts, limbs, and a Home Depot receipt inside Saleh’s home, per reports.
Over the course of three years, Haspil stole money from Saleh through PayPal and Intuit transfers. Even after Saleh had died, he continued transferring money to his account.
Haspil has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges. Such charges carry a minimum sentences of 20 years to life in prison if he is convicted.
His lawyers are hoping a jury will instead decide to convict him of manslaughter due to his “emotionally disturbed” defense. This carries a lighter sentence of five to 25 years in prison.
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