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Employee Charged With Murdering and Dismembering Tech CEO Fahim Saleh

By - July 22, 2020
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A 21-year-old trusted employee of tech CEO Fahim Saleh was arrested last week for murdering and dismembering his boss on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

The New York Post reported the motive for the gruesome slaying was a broken promise to pay back $100,000 in cash the employee stole from Saleh.

Tyrese Hill was charged with second-degree murder inside Saleh’s $2 million East Houston Street apartment, according to NYPC representative Rodney Harrison.

Haspil was Saleh’s executive assistant and dealt with the entrepreneur’s personal matters and finances. Police also suspect that he owed Saleh a lot of money.

The huge debt stemmed from the man’s embezzlement of $100,000 from Saleh. The CEO founded Gokada in 2018, a motorcycle ride-sharing company based in Nigeria that transitioned this year into a delivery service.

‘The Elon Musk of the Developing World’

Saleh, 33, who was called by one friend ‘The Elon Musk of the developing world,’ gave Haspil the job of chief of staff at his investment firm called Adventure Capital.

But the accused murderer, who dropped out of Hofstra University after his freshman year, paid back his boss by ripping him off.

But Saleh gave Haspil a huge break by not going to the police when he discovered the embezzlement. Rather, Saleh negotiated a payment plan for Haspil, but the 21-year-old murdered and dismembered the CEO rather than pay him back.

Act of Charity Turned Into Act of Murder

Police have linked Haspil to the murder with evidence recovered from a taser that is thought to have been used to incapacitate the tech CEO. Tasers have not just electrical probes to stun a person. They also are designed to shoot out tiny confetti-like pieces of paper printed with specific identifying marks when used.

Those tiny pieces of paper were found in Saleh’s apartment on Houston Street. Records show that Haspil purchased the taser with a credit card.

Police records also show he used Saleh’s credit cards to pay for Uber rides to and from a Home Depot on West 23rd Street. That is where he allegedly purchased supplies to clean up after the murder.

Surveillance video at the store shows him entering and exiting a few hours after the murder.

Murder Was Not Enough

Haspil did not stop at murdering his generous and brilliant boss. Next, he allegedly chopped up Saleh’s body with an electrical saw. Body parts were put in plastic bags left in Saleh’s apartment.

It is alleged by police that Saleh was attacked with the taser at 2 PM last Monday as Saleh was exiting the elevator that opened directly into his apartment.

Police learned about the grisly murder the next day when a cousin went to see Saleh and found his remains.

Police sources say the murderer may have been trying to cover up the slaying when the cousin rang the apartment’s bell. Haspil fled the scene by running down the stairs.

Haspil was placed under arrest at 9 AM in the lobby of 172 Crosby Street. He had been staying at an expensive Airbnb rental since last Wednesday. Police located him because he used a credit card to pay for it.

Alleged Killer Was ‘Very Serene and Calm’

When he was arrested, the alleged murderer was serene and calm, according to a witness. The man noted that Haspil looked like a ‘kid who was caught stealing a lollipop out of a candy store.’

Later that day, police got a search warrant in the building and reporters saw them carrying out several luxury handbags.

A woman who went to school with Haspil in New York said that he was a private person and did not talk a great deal. The woman believed this was because he had a difficult childhood.

She added that when she and her friends would go to pick him up, he always lived in foster homes. But he ‘always had a smile on his face and did not complain much,’ she said.

A man who lives at an address connected to Haspil said he was his cousin and that the alleged killer lived with his family for a few months as a teenager. ‘He seemed liked he wanted some guidance in his life,’ the man recalled.

He added that while Haspil seemed to ‘follow bad examples’ often, he never thought he do something as awful as murder.

Haspil Pleads Not Guilty to Murder

Yesterday, Haspil surprised many when he pled not guilty to the second-degree murder charge. CNN reported that his attorneys told the public in a press conference to ‘keep an open mind’ when it came to their client’s guilt.

His lawyers said they were just starting to learn the truth behind the case and said the investigation would be long and complex. They also said that Haspil has no previous criminal record.

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