Assistant arrested over grisly death of tech titan nicknamed ‘the next Elon Musk’
The 21-year-old assistant of a young tech entrepreneur found dismembered in his New York apartment has been arrested over his gruesome death.
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The 21-year-old personal assistant of Fahim Saleh, the tech entrepreneur who was found decapitated and dismembered with an electric saw in his US$2.2million ($A3 million) New York apartment, has been arrested.
Tyrese Devon Haspil was arrested on Friday (local time) over the death of the 33-year-old in his Manhattan apartment earlier this week.
Haspil, who worked as Saleh’s personal assistant, is expected to be charged with second degree murder and other counts, according to a report in the New York Times, citing two officials briefed on the matter.
US authorities believe Saleh was killed after he discovered his assistant had stolen thousands of dollars from him, sources told the outlet.
The killing occurred after Saleh reportedly set up a payment plan for his assistant to recoup the stolen money rather than report him to police.
Authorities reportedly honed in on Haspil after allegedly discovering text messages in which Saleh accused Haspil of stealing the money.
Police, who have not yet publicly announced Haspil’s arrest, believe Saleh was killed on Monday – a day before his body was found by his sister when she went to his apartment.
He was killed on Monday, with Haspil allegedly first zapping him with a Taser and then fatally stabbing him, the New York Times reported. Haspil then allegedly returned the next day to cut up Saleh’s body and clean up the crime scene.
Security footage from inside the elevator shows Haspil using a portable vacuum to try and cover his tracks, the New York Times said.
The New York Post reported that investigators linked Haspil to the slaying through forensic evidence left behind on the Taser.
Surveillance video from Saleh’s downtown apartment building shows the businessman and a smartly dressed Haspil riding together in the elevator — which opens straight out to his apartment — on Monday afternoon. It was the last time Saleh was seen alive.
SHOCKING END FOR YOUNG TECH TITAN
The body of the wealthy young technology entrepreneur nicknamed “the next Elon Musk” was found decapitated in his luxury New York apartment earlier this week, police said.
Fahim Saleh, 33, was found dismembered with his body parts in plastic bags in his $A3.5m Manattan home.
The New York Times reported that detectives found an electric saw near Saleh’s torso. His head and limbs were found elsewhere in the apartment.
Saleh’s sister discovered his body before calling the police.
Saleh, the son of Bangladeshi immigrants, was CEO of Nigerian motorcycle ride-hailing and delivery app Gokada.
“Fahim was a great leader, inspiration and positive light for all of us. Fahim’s vision and belief in us will be with us forever, and we will miss him dearly,” Gokada said on its Twitter account.
We at Gokada are shocked and saddened to hear that Fahim Saleh, our founder and CEO, passed away under tragic circumstances in New York earlier this week. pic.twitter.com/LcsAqxlfOR
— Gokada - We do delivery now (@GokadaNG) July 15, 2020
He was also a founding partner of Adventure Capital, which invests in start-ups in developing countries.
According to local media reports, Saleh recently purchased the apartment where he was murdered for about $A3.5m.
The killer was apparently interrupted when the sister of Saleh arrived at the apartment and found his remains in plastic bags.
His limbs had been severed and his head had been cut off from his torso.
Saleh, 33, was known for investing in developing countries and businesses.
Among his businesses was a motorbike taxi hailing in Nigeria which had recently encountered financial hardship, and he had also invested in ride-sharing companies in Colombia.
The tech CEO was a rising entrepreneur who loved his adopted home of New York City.
Born in Saudi Arabia to a Bangladeshi family, Saleh moved around before his family eventually settled on Rochester, New York, according to a 2016 blog post. He attended grade school in Poughkeepsie in upstate New York, then went on to study at Bentley University in Massachusetts.
But it was the Big Apple that captured his heart.
The tragic 33-year-old tweeted a night-time shot of his luxury downtown apartment building — where police discovered his chopped-up body scattered in garbage bags in his seventh-floor apartment on Tuesday.
“My home,” the venture capitalist wrote with a heart emoji in December after recently moving into the condominium.
He founded Gokada, the Nigeria-based motorcycle ridesharing company, in 2018 and took over as CEO last year. He recently helped transition Gorkada to delivery service.
He also launched venture capital firm Adventure Capital in 2018 and served as CEO at Kickback Apps, an entertainment app company.
Saleh co-founded ride-hailing company Pathao in his parents’ home country of Bangladesh in 2015, calling it the “most well-funded start-up in Bangladesh”.
He also said he was an investor in Picap, Colombia’s largest motorcycle ride-sharing company.
A longtime pal described Saleh as “the Elon Musk of the developing world.”
“He was like the Energiser Bunny,” the friend said. “He played ukulele … he was so full of ideas.”
In November, Saleh tweeted about his experience doing business in Nigeria following a run-in with Nigerian authorities, who took his passport.
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Saleh was last seen around 1:40pm. Monday at his apartment building. Surveillance video showed him getting into an elevator — which opens right into his apartment — and his suspected murderer also getting in with a bag in hand, sources said.
As soon as the doors open to Saleh’s apartment, the suspect can be seen attacking him.
One source said the slaying appeared “professional” — noting that there was almost no blood in the apartment, which hadn’t been looted.
Originally published as Assistant arrested over grisly death of tech titan nicknamed ‘the next Elon Musk’