Who is Tyrese Haspil, the executive assistant who beheaded his tech CEO boss?

In May 2018, Tyrese Haspil started working for Fahim Saleh, a Bangladeshi-American computer programmer and businessman who founded several tech startups, as well as the Manhattan-based venture capital firm Adventure Capital. Haspil was Saleh’s executive assistant and had access to the CEO’s finances, which he took advantage of.

On July 14, 2020, Saleh’s cousin went to his luxury condominium located on Mahattan’s Lower East Side after she hadn’t seen or heard from him in 24 hours. Upon arrival, she was met by a grisly scene: her 33-year-old cousin’s bloodied torso on the living room floor with his head, arms, and legs nowhere to be found. She immediately called 911 to report the crime. Part of what happened the day before the discovery was captured on the condominium’s elevator surveillance video.

Tyrese Haspil’s embezzlement scheme

Haspil started stealing money from Saleh just a few months after he started working for him. In Sept. 2018, he set up a PayPal account with a name that looked similar to businesses Saleh’s company transacted with and began funneling money into the fake account. Three months later, he did the same thing but this time, he created a corporate bank account to embezzle even more money from Saleh. Haspil resigned from his job in May 2019, knowing that it was just a matter of time before the CEO found out about his crimes. Although he no longer worked for Saleh, he continued embezzling money and evidence showed he stole about $400,000 from his boss.

In Jan. 2020, Saleh was alerted of a $35,000 transaction traced to his former assistant. The CEO was disappointed to learn that Haspil had stolen from him, but he gave him a chance to pay him back and opted not to report the incident to the authorities. Saleh told Haspil that he could pay back the $35,000 in installments within two years, which was a generous offer, as opposed to being charged for the crime. Haspil agreed, but he had no plans to push forward with the agreement. Instead, he plotted to kill his former boss.

The day of Fahim Saleh’s murder

On July 13, 2020, surveillance video in Saleh’s condo showed him walking inside the building with Haspil. The two walked into the elevator and Saleh used his access key to get to the 7th floor, which directly goes to his unit. The two looked like they were having a civil chat, but that all changed when the elevator opened and Haspil used a taser to immobilize his former boss as he entered the apartment. The elevator doors closed, and that was the last footage of Saleh alive.

Haspil stabbed Saleh to death and left the condo, only to return the next day in an attempt to hide his crime. He used a power saw to dismember the body and put the body parts in construction bags. He left the condo again to look for a battery charger for the saw, and Saleh’s cousin arrived while Haspil was out. The former executive assistant was arrested four days after the discovery of Saleh’s body.

Why did Tyrese Haspil kill Fahim Saleh?

It wasn’t the first time Haspil stole from his employer. Before working for Saleh, Haspil worked for a restaurant but was fired for stealing $20,000. He falsified his resume and made it more impressive by adding false work experience to get the job with Saleh. According to the prosecutors, he murdered his boss, as he feared Saleh would find out he stole more than $35,000 from him and also to prevent him from testifying against him in case the issue goes to court.

As for why he stole the money, Haspil testified in court that he wanted to give his French girlfriend, Marine Chaveuz, a lavish lifestyle, and his $30 per hour rate wasn’t enough, he claimed. He also talked about why he killed his boss and said, “If I take his life, then I won’t have to pay him back. If I don’t pay him back, I won’t have to worry about missing a payment. If that happens, I can continue on supporting my partner.”

Haspil was found guilty of first-degree murder, concealment of a corpse, burglary, and grand larceny. Saleh’s sister read a victim impact statement and said, “My brother took a chance on you, a chance you did not deserve. You’re a con man, and you’re a murderer. I have no sympathy for you.” In Sept. 2024, Haspil was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison. He would be 61 years old before his first parole hearing in 2064.