Tyrese Devon Haspil: Embezzlement and Murder of Fahim Saleh

Tyrese Devon Haspil is the former personal assistant convicted of the 2020 murder of tech CEO Fahim Saleh, whom he killed and dismembered inside Saleh’s Lower East Side apartment after embezzling roughly $400,000 from him. A Manhattan jury found Haspil guilty on all counts on June 24, 2024, rejecting his defense that the killing was driven by extreme emotional disturbance, and on September 10, 2024, he was sentenced to 40 years to life in state prison.¹

Who Tyrese Haspil Was

Haspil grew up on Long Island through a difficult childhood. His mother was institutionalized when he was young, and he was raised by his maternal grandmother until her death in 2011, when he was about 12. He then lived with an aunt who became his legal guardian, emancipated himself at 17, and was placed with a foster family. His father died when he was 18.²

He attended Valley Stream Central High School, where he won first place in web design at the Future Business Leaders of America state convention.³ Haspil first met Saleh through FBLA. He briefly enrolled at Hofstra University before dropping out in 2018, and when Saleh posted a listing for a personal assistant after returning to New York, Haspil applied and was hired.⁴ Starting in May 2018, he worked as Saleh’s executive assistant, handling finances and personal matters, which gave him direct access to Saleh’s bank accounts.⁵

Saleh, 33 at the time of his death, was a Bangladeshi-American tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist who co-founded the ride-sharing company Pathao in Bangladesh and the motorcycle ride-hailing firm Gokada in Nigeria. Friends called him “the Elon Musk of the developing world.”⁶

The $400,000 Embezzlement

Between December 2018 and his resignation in May 2019, Haspil used his financial access to steal from Saleh. Prosecutors said he set up a PayPal account and a corporate bank account to funnel money out, created bogus statements, and used deceptive naming conventions to disguise the transactions. The total he stole reached approximately $400,000.⁷

Much of the money went to maintaining a lavish lifestyle aimed at impressing his French girlfriend, Marine Chaveuz. Haspil spent thousands on Louis Vuitton purchases, helicopter rides, and a posh apartment.⁸

In January 2020, one of the fraudulent schemes was traced to Haspil, and Saleh confronted him about roughly $35,000 in stolen funds. Rather than calling the police, Saleh offered him a two-year repayment plan. Haspil paid back that $35,000 using money from a separate, still-undiscovered PayPal scheme, and the larger theft continued. Prosecutors said Haspil grew fearful that Saleh would eventually uncover the full scope of the embezzlement and testify against him, and that fear became the motive for murder.¹

Weeks of Planning and Three Prior Attempts

Haspil spent weeks preparing. He researched weapons, tasers, cleaning supplies, and the anatomy of the neck. On June 17, 2020, he bought contractor bags, a Swiffer WetJet, and a saw from Home Depot. He also acquired a knife, an Axon taser, a black custom suit, and an opaque mask.⁹

He went further. He contacted a broker to gain access to a vacant apartment across the street from Saleh’s building, copied the keys, and installed a Nest camera to watch Saleh’s movements. He researched how to make items sink in the Hudson River and measured the depth of the water.⁹

Before the July killing, Haspil made at least three earlier attempts on Saleh’s life. In March 2020 he followed Saleh to Lagos, Nigeria, carrying a knife. He also followed him to Hopewell Junction, New York, on two separate occasions with plans either to stab him while he was out for a run or to burn down his house. None of those attempts were carried out.⁹

The Killing at 265 East Houston Street

On the morning of July 13, 2020, Haspil followed another person into the lobby of Saleh’s building at 265 East Houston Street and waited in a stairwell. When Saleh arrived home and stepped off the elevator, which opened directly into his seventh-floor apartment, Haspil tased him in the back and then attacked him with a knife. According to Haspil’s own testimony, Saleh’s last words were “What are you doing?”⁸ The medical examiner ruled the cause of death multiple stab wounds.¹⁰

Haspil returned the next day, July 14, to dismember and decapitate the body using the saw he had bought. When the saw’s battery died, he left to buy a battery charger. He also used a mini vacuum to try to remove anti-felon identification discs discharged by the taser.⁹

Saleh’s cousin discovered the body that same day after going to check on him. She used her own key fob to operate the elevator and found Saleh’s torso on a tarp, with his head and limbs in garbage bags nearby and a battery-operated saw next to the remains.¹¹ Investigators believe her arrival interrupted Haspil before he could finish disposing of the body, and that he fled through a back exit.¹⁰

Arrest and Charges

Haspil was arrested on July 17, 2020, in the lobby of a luxury apartment building several blocks from the crime scene.¹² A grand jury later returned an indictment that included first-degree murder, second-degree murder, three counts of second-degree grand larceny, second-degree burglary, concealment of a human corpse, and tampering with physical evidence.¹³ He pleaded not guilty and was held without bail at Rikers Island.¹⁴

The Trial

The case went to trial in May 2024 before Manhattan Supreme Court Justice April A. Newbauer and lasted about a month.¹⁵ Assistant District Attorneys Linda Ford and Joseph Goldstein characterized the killing as a meticulously planned murder driven by greed, citing weeks of research, the multiple earlier attempts, and the surveillance setup across the street.¹⁶

Haspil’s Testimony

Haspil took the stand and admitted to the killing. He testified that his reasoning was transactional: “If I take his life, then I won’t have to pay him back. If I don’t have to pay him back, I won’t have to worry about missing a payment. If that happens, I can continue on supporting my partner.”⁸ He said he returned the next day to dismember the body because he wanted to “buy time” for Chaveuz to leave the country before anyone discovered the crime.¹⁶

The Extreme Emotional Disturbance Defense

His defense attorneys, led by Sam Roberts of the Legal Aid Society, argued extreme emotional disturbance, seeking to reduce the first-degree murder charge to manslaughter. Roberts contended that Haspil was so fixated on Chaveuz and so terrified of losing her that he became unhinged, pointing to his traumatic childhood and describing what he called “love mania” and “abandonment issues.”¹⁷ The defense noted that Haspil had been planning an elaborate birthday celebration for Chaveuz on July 19, 2020, days after the murder.⁸

Prosecutors countered that the premeditation evidence made the defense implausible. Ford highlighted on cross-examination that Haspil received a receipt for Louis Vuitton gifts just six hours after the murder and was seen with another woman soon afterward making purchases with Saleh’s stolen credit cards.⁸

Verdict and Sentence

On June 24, 2024, the jury deliberated for three hours before finding Haspil guilty on all counts: first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree grand larceny, second-degree burglary, tampering with physical evidence, and concealment of a human corpse.⁹

On September 10, 2024, Justice Newbauer sentenced Haspil to 40 years to life in state prison. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement that Saleh had been “a kind, generous, and empathetic person who positively impacted the world” and that even after Haspil stole from him, Saleh “still gave him a second chance.”¹

1
Manhattan District Attorney. D.A. Bragg Announces Sentencing of Tyrese Haspil for Brutal Murder of Fahim Saleh
2
New York Daily News. Ex-Assistant Charged With NYC Tech Mogul Fahim Saleh’s Gruesome Murder Had Rocky Childhood
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New York Post. Tech CEO Fahim Saleh Was a Great Success Before His Murder
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Business Insider. Fahim Saleh and Tyrese Haspil Profiles
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CNN. New York Tech CEO Murder Conviction
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New York Post. Who Was Fahim Saleh, the Tech CEO Brutally Dismembered in NYC
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People. Man Convicted of Murdering and Decapitating Tech CEO Boss After Stealing
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New York Post. Chilling Last Words of Beheaded Tech CEO Revealed as Killer Testifies
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Manhattan District Attorney. D.A. Bragg Announces All-Count Trial Conviction of Tyrese Haspil
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Los Angeles Times. Person in Custody in Killing of Tech CEO Found Dismembered
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Oxygen. Tyrese Haspil Killed and Dismembered Tech Mogul Fahim Saleh
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Boston Herald. Personal Assistant Charged in Dismembered Tech CEO’s Killing
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CBS News. Indictment of Tyrese Haspil
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CNN. Tyrese Haspil Pleads Not Guilty in Fahim Saleh Killing
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New York Post. Tech CEO Fahim Saleh’s Ex-Assistant Convicted in Grisly Dismemberment Murder
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Business Insider. Fahim Saleh Death Killer Tyrese Haspil Emotions May Sway Verdict
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New York Post. NYC Tech Mogul Killed by Assistant Over Fear Girlfriend Would Leave Him