An arrest was made early Friday in the brutal murder of 33-year-old tech entrepreneur Fahim Saleh, who was found dismembered in his Lower East Side condo this week. The suspect is Tyrese Devon Haspil, Saleh’s 21-year-old former personal assistant, who is expected to be charged with second-degree murder, among other crimes, according to the Times.
Several days after Saleh’s sister found his body, police are beginning to piece together the events that led to his killing. They already knew that a man dressed in a black suit followed Saleh from his building’s elevator to his apartment, used a stun gun to immobilize him, and then stabbed him to death. Investigators believe that happened on Monday.
The killer returned the next day to clean up the crime scene but was interrupted when Saleh’s sister, stopping by to check on him, buzzed his apartment. Investigators believe the killer fled the apartment when Saleh’s sister arrived. When she entered, she found her brother’s body, decapitated and dismembered in trash bags. An electric saw was still plugged in nearby.
The Times reports police have settled on a possible motive:
Detectives believe that the motive for the killing stemmed from Mr. Saleh having discovered that the assistant had stolen tens of thousands of dollars from him, despite the fact that Mr. Saleh had not reported the man and had set up what amounted to a repayment plan for him to return the money, one of the officials said.
Saleh, who has founded multiple companies, was the chief executive of the Nigerian motorcycle-sharing company Gokada. “Fahim is more than what you are reading,” his family said in a statement. “He is so much more. His brilliant and innovative mind took everyone who was a part of his world on a journey and he made sure never to leave anyone behind.”
