US court sentenced Tyrese Haspil, a 25-year-old American man, to 40 years to Life in prison for murdering Former Boss Fahim Saleh, 33, in New York City.
According to People.com, Haspil, Saleh’s former executive assistant, murdered the 33-year-old Gokada CEO and founder of Nigerian transportation company to conceal his embezzlement of company funds.
Two months after his conviction by a New York State Supreme Court jury, Haspil received his sentence and was found guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree grand theft, and other charges.
Tyrese Haspil is now being held accountable for the brutal murder and decapitation of Fahim Saleh, a kind and empathetic individual who made positive global impacts,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. stated in Tuesday’s press release.
“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.”
Surveillance footage from July 13, 2020, captured Haspil entering Saleh’s Lower Manhattan apartment building and following him into the elevator, prosecutors reported.
Haspil attacked Saleh immediately after they exited the elevator into the apartment, first using a taser on his back, then fatally stabbing him multiple times in the neck and torso.
The next day, he returned to the apartment and “dismembered and decapitated Mr. Saleh’s body using the saw and placed the body parts in pre-ordered construction bags,” as stated in the release.
Saleh’s cousin discovered this after visiting his apartment to check on his welfare because she had not received any communication from him in 24 hours. She immediately notified the police.
Prosecutors stated that Haspil left the apartment to collect a battery charger for the saw but did not return after observing police in the building.
Four days later he was arrested at an Airbnb location he had rented to celebrate his girlfriend’s birthday.
The Gokada founder discovered Haspil’s embezzlement of thousands of dollars from his accounts, to which Haspil has had access as his executive assistant since 2018.
The district attorney’s office said that Haspil set up a PayPal account and a corporate bank account to funnel Saleh’s money, he also generated fake financial statements with a name that resembled those of legitimate transactions, making it difficult for Saleh to detect the embezzlement.
“Haspil resigned in May 2019, knowing Mr. Saleh would learn about the embezzlement, yet continued to steal money [and] increasing the amounts,” prosecutors said.
According to prosecutors, in an attempt to hide the embezzlement and prevent Saleh from potentially serving as a witness against him, Haspil had plotted to murder Saleh at least three times before ultimately carrying out the crime in July 2020.
“Fahim also believed that technology can transform lives and improve safety and efficiency. He built Gokada to act upon these beliefs,” the statement read.
Gokada is a ride-hailing service in Nigeria that launched in 2017 before diversifying into Logistics and Food Delivery in 2020.
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