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Fahim Saleh, an entrepreneur who started the Nigeria-based scooter startup Gokada, was killed in July 2020 in his Manhattan apartment. The case startled numerous individuals because of the brutality and planned nature of the offense.
Saleh's previous personal assistant, Tyrese Haspil, was convicted of murder, which was financially motivated after Haspil stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from Saleh's businesses. The facts that came out in the investigation and trial were a chilling sequence of events, from crime planning to cover-up attempts.
New York Homicide on Oxygen will be featuring the case of the murder of Fahim Saleh. The episode is set to air on June 14, 2025.
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Five major details about the murder of Fahim Saleh
1) The killer was a trusted employee
As per the press release from the District Attorney's office of New York County, dated September 10, 2024, Fahim Saleh employed Tyrese Haspil as his assistant in May 2018. Haspil was entrusted with managing Saleh's finances and had access to confidential company documents. Prosecutors say that within months of being employed, Haspil started stealing from Saleh's businesses using elaborate schemes to transfer funds.
When Fahim Saleh found out about the theft, he decided not to report Haspil to the police, but rather opted to have him repay the stolen amounts over two years. Notwithstanding this second opportunity, Haspil still engaged in money embezzlement, and it eventually drove him to kill Saleh when he was afraid of being caught and facing the law.
2) The attack was well-planned and carried out
According to the New York County District Attorney's office's press release, Haspil attacked Saleh on July 13, 2020, when he followed him into the elevator of his Manhattan high-end apartment complex. The elevator directly led to Saleh's apartment. Haspil, wearing a black suit and a mask, was seen on surveillance cameras entering Saleh's apartment behind him.
As Saleh stepped out of the elevator, Haspil tased him in the back, and he fell to the floor. He stabbed him repeatedly in the neck and torso, fatally wounding him. The assault was quick and methodical, as Haspil targeted Saleh's vulnerable areas to ensure that he would die.
3) The body was disfigured to hide the crime
Following the murder of Saleh, Haspil went out of the apartment and came back the following day with an electric saw. He decapitated and dismembered Saleh's body and put the remains in pre-ordered construction bags, as per the above-mentioned press release.
Haspil's activity was interrupted when the battery of the saw ran out, and he had to exit the apartment to buy a charger. It was while he was away that Fahim Saleh's cousin turned up at the apartment, found the crime scene, and contacted the police. Haspil's effort to get rid of the body and clean up the scene was not thorough.
4) Attempts at a cover-up of the murder
Haspil made various attempts to cover his tracks, as per the press release from the District Attorney's office of New York County. He employed a mini vacuum to remove the Anti-Felon Identification Discs (AFID) that were expelled by the Taser, which bear serial numbers for tracing the device by law enforcement.
He also researched tips on how to dispose of objects in the Hudson River and how deep the river was, signaling the intended destruction of evidence. Despite these efforts, key evidence remained at the scene, and surveillance footage, along with digital records, quickly led investigators to Haspil.
5) The motive was financial desperation
PEOPLE reported that the prosecutors built the case that Haspil's motive was economic. He had been stealing around $400,000 from Fahim Saleh's businesses and was afraid of getting caught. Haspil's defense claimed that he was in a state of "extreme emotional disturbance" and acted to keep up his extravagant lifestyle, particularly for his girlfriend, as per a New York Post report.
Yet, evidence revealed the murder was planned, with Haspil conducting searches of phrases such as "dismembered body" and "murder of tech CEO in New York" in the days leading up to and following the crime.
Watch New York Homicide on Oxygen for more details about the murder of Fahim Saleh.
