The assistant who decapitated his tech entrepreneur boss in his multi-million dollar Manhattan apartment wore a suit he stole from his victim as he was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison Tuesday.
Tyrese Haspil, 25, was found guilty in June of murder, grand larceny and other charges in the 2020 death of his former boss, 33-year-old Fahim Saleh.
Sentencing for the former assistant took nearly two hours, as Saleh’s father and sister read tearful impact statements.
When Haspil finally addressed the court, he shocked many, saying: ‘Unlike my counsel, I don’t think anything less than life without parole would be appropriate’.
He then claimed that the suit he wore in court to his sentencing was bought with some of the $400,000 from Saleh.
It was revealed in court that the victim was not going to destroy Haspil after finding out about the thievery and was going to set up a repayment plan.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg attended the sentencing and released a statement afterward.
‘Today, Tyrese Haspil is facing accountability for brutally murdering and decapitating Fahim Saleh, a kind, generous, and empathetic person who positively impacted the world’, he said.
‘Even after the defendant stole from him to fund a lavish lifestyle, Mr. Saleh still gave him a second chance. While today´s sentence won´t bring Mr. Saleh back, I hope it provides his family a sense of closure as they continue to mourn his painful loss.’
Haspil was convicted on one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree grand larceny, one count of burglary, one count of evidence tampering and one count of concealing a corpse.
Haspil was so desperate to keep the theft a secret from his then French girlfriend, Marine Chaveuz, fearing she would break up with him if she found out, prosecutors allege he felt he had no choice but to kill his boss.
Saleh’s limbless body was found in his luxury $2.4 million apartment on the Lower East Side in July of 2020.
The tech CEO founded the Nigerian motorcycle ride-sharing company Gokada.
Haspil forced his way inside Saleh’s apartment where he first Tasered him then stabbed him to death.
His defense attorney Sam Roberts, told the jury that Haspil suffered from ‘extreme emotional disturbance,’ which led him to kill.
Fearing his girlfriend would leave him, Haspil worked out his only suitable options were ‘suicide or homicide’.
Haspil was initially caught by Saleh having learned of him stealing $90,000 initially but he decided not to press charges after seeing the man as his protégé.
Instead, he allowed him to pay him back through a payment plan yet Haspil continued to steal from Saleh’s company using a PayPal account. Once again, he was found out.
Haspil then decided to play Saleh’s murder and to get away with it.
‘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 told the court.
Prosecutors described finding a Makita saw, demolition bags containing body parts, limbs and a Home Depot receipt inside Saleh’s home.
They say that over the course of three years, Haspil stole from Saleh in PayPal and Intuit transfers, and that he kept transferring money to himself even four days after Saleh had died.
Detectives started investigating Haspil after finding text messages in which Saleh accused Haspil of stealing the money, according to police sources.
Saleh was tasered and then stabbed multiple times before being dismembered, police said.
Surveillance footage from inside the 265 East Houston apartment building showed Saleh was followed into the elevator by a man – believed to be Haspil – who was wearing a black suit and mask.
Investigators say Saleh, who was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, appeared suspicious when the masked-man fumbled with the elevator, which requires the use of a key fob to operate.
The footage shows the victim collapsing to the ground as the elevator doors opened directly into Saleh’s full-floor apartment. The elevator doors then closed and obscured the camera’s view of what happened next.
Haspil’s credit card was allegedly used after the murder to purchase a power saw and cleaning products at Home Depot.
The card was allegedly also used to pay for travel to and from Saleh’s apartment.
Tyrese Haspil is escorted out of the 7th precinct by NYPD detectives, July 17, 2020, in New York
Following the killing Haspil vacuumed up, but his cleanup wasn’t good enough and he missed a single ‘anti-felon disk’ identification tag, which was recovered at the scene.
The disk held a unique number matched to the Taser that Haspil ordered to his Brooklyn address one month before the murder, prosecutors explained.
When police arrived at the scene, Saleh’s torso was found in the corner of his living room and his head, arms, and legs had been separated into plastic bags.
An electric saw that was still plugged in, a vacuum cleaner and cleaning products were found nearby.
When the alleged killer returned the following day to clean up, police believe he may have been interrupted by Saleh’s cousin who stopped by to check in on him having not heard from him in several days.
His cousin likely pressed the buzzer of Saleh’s apartment before entering the building, alerting the killer and forcing him to abandon his efforts to dispose of the remains.
The killer is believed to have fled the building through a fire escape while his victim’s cousin rode the elevator up, police said.
Police sources said initially they believed the murder was financially motivated and likely the fatal result of a soured business deal.
Prior to the personal assistant’s arrest, investigators had been looking into Saleh’s business affairs for any possible motives or suspects.
Haspil, who is from Elmont, New York, had worked for Saleh at his investment firm Adventure Capital.