Tyrese Devon Haspil, a 21-year-old man, was arrested for the murder and dismembering of multi-millionaire Tech CEO Fahim Saleh. Haspil was a former assistant of Saleh who was fired after he stole thousands of dollars from the victim.
Hailing from Long Island, Haspil was arrested by the investigators from the lobby of his apartment building at Crosby Street in SoHo on Friday afternoon. He was sharing the apartment with his girlfriend.
A 33-year-old Bangladeshi-American millionaire, Saleh was found decapitated at his apartment located at Lower East Side in New York earlier this week. The parts of his dismembered body were found stuffed in plastic bags, with a power saw placed next to them. Saleh was a venture capitalist who co-founded tech company Pathao. He was also the CEO of Nigeria-based motorbike startup Gokada.
Saleh Helped Killer Pay Off His Debts
The 21-year old Haspil, who graduated from Valley Stream, New York-based Central High School, was a student of Hofstra University. During his high school, Haspil was awarded for designing a website, reported The New York Times.
The detectives working on the cases believe that Haspil started working for the slain multimillionaire from the age of 16. Apart from taking care of Saleh's personal affairs including looking after his dog, the accused also started managing his finances. Haspil was well paid by Saleh and soon he was able to clear the debts of several family members, reported the outlet.
Addressing a press conference, chief of detectives Rodney K. Harrison said that Haspil was fired from his job after Saleh discovered that he had stolen roughly $90,000 from him. However, the Tech CEO did not file a theft report against Haspil. Instead, Saleh provided a payment plan to Haspil to help him payoff the stolen money.
Haspil Bought Balloons for Girlfriend's Birthday from Stolen Credit Card
Haspil, who was previously staying at Woodruff Avenue in Brooklyn, had bought the taser used in the murder online with his own credit card. After murdering his former employer, Haspil stole his credit card and used it to buy balloons to celebrate his girlfriend's birthday, reported the New York Times.
The investigators revealed that Saleh was murdered a day before his body was discovered by his cousin, who then called the cops. To make the murder appear likes a professional job, Saleh bought cleaning supplies from a store using the stolen credit card. He arrived again at the victim's house the next day with cleaning supplies including a portable vacuum cleaner, the officials said.
However, while dismembering the body, Saleh's cousin buzzed the apartment from the building's lobby, giving enough time to Haspil to flee from the back door, officials continued.
