A technical assistant who allegedly decapitated his boss at a multimillion-dollar Manhattan mansion in 2020 did so in what prosecutors called a crime of passion, according to a court filing. Daily Mail.
Tyrese Haspil, 25, recently appeared in Manhattan Supreme Court on charges of murdering Fahim Saleh in 2020. Saleh was reportedly dismembered by his assistant Haspil, who then stole $400,000 from the entrepreneur in the years leading up to his death.
‘[H]He planned not only to commit murder but also to get away with it.”
Despite carrying out the theft, Haspil was adamant about keeping his deed a secret from his girlfriend, Marine Chavous, and decided to kill his boss, fearing that she would leave him if she found out about the money he had stolen.
According to reports, Saleh’s body was discovered in July 2020 in his $2.4 million Lower East Side apartment. He was missing arms and legs.
New York Post report Saleh, a venture capitalist and former CEO of Nigeria-based motorcycle company Gokada, confronted Haspil in January 2020 about the missing $90,000.
Even though the funds were traced back to Haspil, Saleh decided not to sue his assistant because he considered Haspil his protégé. Saleh told Haspil he could repay the money in installments.
But instead of paying back the money, Haspil continued to steal from the company, and, fearing prosecution, prosecutors say, he decided to research ways to commit murder without being charged.
“During this time, he not only planned to commit murder, but also to get away with it – to cover up the murder, to cancel his debts and to prevent Fahim Saleh from testifying at his criminal trial,” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Linda Ford said in court.
According to reports, the prosecutor in the case explained in court how a Makita saw, dismemberment bags containing body parts and limbs, and Home Depot receipts were found in Saleh’s home.
Over a three-year period, Haspil stole money from Saleh through PayPal and Intuit money transfer services, and continued to transfer money to Saleh’s account after his death.
Haspil has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and faces a minimum sentence of 20 years to life in prison if convicted.
His lawyers hope that a jury will use his “emotionally unstable” defense to convict him of manslaughter, which carries a lighter sentence of five to 25 years.
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