A personal assistant convicted of killing and dismembering his former tech entrepreneur boss after stealing about US$400,000 from him was sentenced on Tuesday to 40 years to life in prison, Manhattan's district attorney said.
Tyrese Haspil, 25, was found guilty in June of murder, grand larceny and other charges in the 2020 death of his former boss, Fahim Saleh, reports AP.
Prosecutors said Haspil had been hired as an assistant for Saleh, whose ventures included a ride-hailing motorcycle start-up in Nigeria, but quickly began to siphon money from Saleh’s businesses. Haspil resigned a year later but continued to steal money, even after Saleh discovered the theft and let Haspil repay him over two years to avoid criminal prosecution.
Haspil decided to kill Saleh over concerns that his former boss would discover he was continuing to steal from his companies, prosecutors said.
On July 13, 2020, Haspil, wearing a black suit and a mask, followed Saleh into the lift of his luxury apartment building in Manhattan and shocked him in the back with a taser when the lift doors opened into Saleh’s apartment. Saleh fell to the floor and Haspil stabbed him to death, authorities said.
Haspil returned to the apartment the next day to dismember the body with an electric saw but eventually left to purchase a charger after the saw's battery died. While Haspil was out, Saleh’s cousin arrived at the apartment and discovered the dismembered body.
Police arrested Haspil days later.
"Today, Tyrese Haspil is facing accountability for brutally murdering and decapitating Fahim Saleh, a kind, generous, and empathetic person who positively impacted the world. Even after the defendant stole from him to fund a lavish lifestyle, Mr. Saleh still gave him a second chance," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.
"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."
