A suspect has been taken into custody in the case of the gruesome murder of Gokada founder, Fahim Saleh. New York City police suspect the stabbing and dismemberment of the 33-year-old entrepreneur was tied to stolen money.
Fahim Saleh, 33, was found dead in his Manhattan home this week. His Personal Assistant is expected to be charged with second-degree murder and other charges on Friday.
The 21-year-old Personal Assistant of Fahim Saleh was arrested Friday in the grisly slaying of the tech investor, an attack police said appeared related to the theft of tens of thousands of dollars.
New York City police say Tyrese Devon Haspil attacked Saleh, 33, on Monday at his luxury Manhattan apartment, then dismembered his body a day later with an electric saw and put the remains in trash bags.
Saleh’s sister made the discovery Tuesday, when she went to check after not hearing from him. Police said she may have interrupted Haspil when she buzzed Saleh’s unit from the building’s entry, and suspect he escaped down a service entrance.
The gruesome killing shocked neighbors and the tech and venture capital worlds, where Saleh, a founding partner at Adventure Capital, cultivated a reputation as an energetic, creative businessman who specialized in direct investment in developing nations. His ride-sharing apps in Nigeria, Gokada, and his parents’ native Bangladesh, Pathao, grew to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
“Fahim is more than what you are reading,†his family said in a Wednesday 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.â€
Saleh recently discovered that Haspil stole tens of thousands of dollars from him, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed law enforcement officials. But instead of reporting the theft to police, Saleh set up a repayment plan for Haspil.
Police say Haspil, dressed in a black three-piece suit, followed Saleh into the key-card secured elevator that led to his seventh-floor apartment and attacked him when the elevator stopped. He disabled Saleh with a Taser, police told the Times, and stabbed him several times in the neck and torso.
Police say Haspil left the apartment to obtain cleaning supplies from Home Depot, then returned to dismember Saleh’s body and erase his own DNA evidence, even using a handheld vacuum to clean the elevator.
Law enforcement officials are expected to reveal more details at a Friday news conference.
With additional reports from Washington Post.
