On a sweltering July afternoon in 2020, the New York Police Department made a discovery that sent shockwaves through the city: the dismembered body of 33-year-old tech entrepreneur Fahim Saleh, meticulously packed into plastic bags, strewn across his luxury Manhattan apartment. Saleh had been a rising star in the tech world, a Bangladeshi-American visionary who founded ride-hailing services across South Asia and Africa. Days after the gruesome find, police arrested the unlikeliest of suspects—Tyrese Haspil, Saleh’s personal assistant, a man trusted with his finances, his secrets, and, ultimately, his life.
The crime, shocking in its brutality, became even more sinister when the motive emerged. According to prosecutors, Haspil’s descent into darkness began with an act of betrayal. Haspil, a young man hired to manage Saleh’s accounts and errands, had begun embezzling funds from his employer as early as 2019, siphoning tens of thousands of dollars through forged transactions. When Saleh uncovered the theft, he did not react with anger. Instead, in a move of extraordinary kindness, he offered Haspil a way out—a repayment plan to avoid legal consequences. But for Haspil, it wasn’t enough. Faced with the possibility of being caught for stealing nearly $400,000, he devised a chilling plan to silence Saleh forever.
In the weeks leading up to the murder, Haspil’s preparations took on the air of a macabre thriller. He researched tasers, knives, and the depth of the Hudson River. He bought contractor bags and cleaning supplies and even rented a nearby apartment to monitor Saleh’s movements. On the morning of July 13, he followed Saleh into his apartment, armed with a taser and a knife, disguised in all-black attire. Prosecutors say that once inside, Haspil tased Saleh, then stabbed him repeatedly in the neck and torso. What followed was a calculated effort to erase all evidence of the crime. Haspil returned the next day with an electric saw to dismember the body, but his morbid work was interrupted when Saleh’s cousin arrived for a wellness check. The saw’s battery had died, and Haspil, caught mid-act, fled the scene.
Days later, police found Haspil planning an extravagant birthday celebration for his girlfriend, funded by the very money he had stolen. His internet search history was littered with terms like “dismembered body” and “murder of a tech CEO.” It wasn’t long before authorities tracked him down, arresting him at the Airbnb he rented for the party. In September 2023, after a long trial that revealed the depths of his betrayal and cruelty, Haspil was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison. The tale of Fahim Saleh’s murder is a chilling reminder of how trust can be twisted into something deadly, a plotline worthy of fiction but horrifyingly real.
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