Chilling last words of beheaded tech CEO revealed as killer testifies about lavish gifts he gave to French lover
A thieving protege who allegedly beheaded his tech CEO boss testified Monday that his mentor questioned his appearance before the attack – but didn’t immediately realize his life was in danger.
Tyrese Haspil, 25, was wearing a dark, plastic face shield with a baseball cap and sunglasses when he took a fateful elevator ride with Fahim Saleh in his Lower East Side apartment building in July 2020, the alleged killer said on the witness stand in Manhattan Supreme Court.
“He commented on my outfit. He said something to the effect of you’re really taking this COVID [personal protection equipment] seriously,” Haspil recalled to his attorney, Diane Ackerman of the Legal Aid Society, before confessing to the murder.
“He got off the elevator and I tased him in the back. I remember tasing him in the back,” Haspil added in a cool tone.
“I took out a knife and I started aiming for his neck.”
Haspil’s attorneys have said he committed the murder due to “extreme emotional disturbance” as he showered his French exchange student girlfriend with pricey gifts to give the impression he was a big-spending high-roller.
Haspil was asked on the witness stand by his attorney if he remembered anything Saleh had said during the brutal murder — to which he revealed his victim’s chilling last words: “What are you doing?”
Manhattan prosecutors have accused Haspil of murdering Saleh – a venture capitalist and the CEO of Nigeria-based scooter startup Gokada – because he embezzled $400,000 from his boss and had been threatened with criminal charges.
Haspil testified that he had gotten a $30-an-hour executive assistant job with the “charismatic” and “visionary” Faleh in 2018 after he created a fake resume with made-up experience, including a job with the phony company “Pinina.”
He had applied to work for Faleh after he was fired from a Moe’s Southwest Grille on Long Island for embezzling $20,000, he said.
But Haspil then met his French girlfriend, Marine Chaveuz, in September 2018 — where the intense demands and high-priced tastes took a toll and were too much for his weekly paychecks to handle.
He continued to steal from Saleh, but knew Chaveuz was eventually going to find out about how he was really funding their lavish relationship on Saleh’s tab.
According to Haspil, he didn’t want to “abandon” his girlfriend.
“If I take his life, then I won’t have to pay him back,” Haspil testified.
“If I don’t have to pay him back, I won’t have to worry about missing a payment. If that happens, I can continue on supporting my partner.”
Haspil has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges which carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years-to-life behind bars if he is convicted.
His attorneys are trying to get the charge downgraded to manslaughter based on the “extreme emotional disturbance” defense.
He explained his rationale for killing Saleh was because he became “fixated” on making Chaveuz’s birthday on July 19, 2020 her best yet, he said.
He was asked about how he was planning to celebrate her birthday on cross-examination by Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Linda Ford — where he revealed that he had planned a spa day, kickboxing, a sunset cruise and other excursions after the alleged murder.
Haspil admitted that he spent $7,349 on a Louis Vuitton backpack and trunk clutch for his designer-obsessed girlfriend — who even got her own customized Louis Vuitton birthday cake.
He confirmed to the attorney that he received an emailed receipt just six hours after the alleged July 13, 2020 murder.
“That’s the same day you killed Fahim Saleh?” asked the attorney, to which Haspil responded, “Yes.”
The trial will continue Tuesday.
