A Manhattan jury on Monday found Tyrese Haspil guilty on all counts related to the brutal murder of his former boss, tech CEO Fahim Saleh.
Haspil, 25, admitted to fatally stabbing and dismembering Saleh, CEO of transportation and delivery service Gokada, to hide a $400,000 embezzlement. Saleh was found decapitated and sawed into six pieces in his Manhattan apartment in July 2020.
A jury found Haspil guilty of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree robbery, one count of second-degree burglary, tampering with evidence and concealing a human corpse, the district attorney said. district of Manhattan, Alvin Bragg.
“Today, a jury found Tyrese Haspil guilty of the brutal murder of Fahim Saleh, his former mentor and boss, after stealing approximately $400,000 from him,” Bragg said in a statement. “Tyrese Haspil tragically cut short the life of Mr. Saleh, a man from a close-knit immigrant family who followed his passions to become a successful entrepreneur.
Throughout the trial, prosecutors argued that Haspil meticulously planned the bloody murder to hide his financial crimes, while Haspil’s legal team tried to convince the jury that he killed Saleh in a misguided attempt to to impress his French girlfriend, citing “extreme emotional disturbance.”
Saleh hired Haspil as his personal assistant in May 2018, in a role that gave him access to the CEO’s finances. For several months, prosecutors said Haspil ran an elaborate embezzlement scheme to buy lavish gifts for his girlfriend.
Prosecutors told the jury that Haspil was active on the dating app Bumble while he was with his girlfriend – an attempt to cast doubt on claims by Haspil’s lawyer that his love for his girlfriend d ‘then led him to murder.
The jury heard the heartbreaking 911 call made by the woman — and Saleh’s cousin — who discovered his decapitated body and saw the security footage leading up to the killing. In the video, Haspil can be seen shocking Saleh with a Taser in the elevator of Saleh’s condo.
Members of Saleh’s family attended the trial, sitting stoically in the benches during closing arguments, Business Insider’s Laura Italiano reported.
Haspil is expected to be sentenced in September.
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