American Bags 40 Years In Jail For Beheading Gokada Nigeria Founder

Tyrese Haspil, a 25-year-old American, has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for the murder of his former employer, Fahim Saleh, who was 33.

Saleh, the founder and CEO of the Nigerian transportation company Gokada, was killed in New York City.

Fahim Saleh

Tyrese Haspil, who served as Fahim Saleh’s executive assistant, had been embezzling money from his employer and murdered him to evade detection.

Haspil was sentenced after being convicted by a New York State Supreme Court jury two months ago.

He was found guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree grand larceny and other charges.

The Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg Jr., in a press release on Tuesday, said, “Today, Tyrese Haspil is facing accountability for brutally murdering and decapitating Fahim Saleh, a kind, generous, and empathetic person who positively impacted the world.

“Even after the defendant stole from him to fund a lavish lifestyle, Mr. Saleh still gave him a second chance. While today’s sentence won’t bring Mr. Saleh back, I hope it provides his family a sense of closure as they continue to mourn his painful loss.”

Prosecutors stated that surveillance footage captured Haspil entering Saleh’s apartment building in Lower Manhattan on July 13, 2020, and subsequently following him into the elevator.

Upon exiting the elevator, which led directly into Saleh’s apartment, Haspil deployed a taser against Saleh’s back and then repeatedly stabbed him in the neck and torso with a knife, resulting in his death.

The next day, Haspil returned to the apartment where he “dismembered and decapitated Mr. Saleh’s body using the saw and placed the body parts in pre-ordered construction bags,” as stated in the release.

Saleh’s cousin discovered the crime after visiting his apartment to check on him, having not heard from him for 24 hours. She promptly contacted the police.

Prosecutors revealed that Haspil left the apartment to get a battery charger for the saw but did not return upon noticing police presence in the building.

Haspil was arrested four days later at an Airbnb he had rented to celebrate his girlfriend’s birthday.

Fahim Saleh, the founder of Gokada, had discovered that Haspil had embezzled thousands of dollars from his accounts, which Haspil had access to as Saleh’s executive assistant since 2018.

According to the district attorney’s office, Haspil set up a PayPal account and a corporate bank account to funnel Saleh’s money.

He created fake financial statements and used names similar to legitimate transactions, making it difficult for Saleh to detect the fraud.

Prosecutors noted that Haspil resigned in May 2019, anticipating that Saleh would eventually discover the embezzlement, yet he continued to steal and even increased the amounts.

The district attorney’s office reported that while Haspil repaid some of the stolen funds through the PayPal scheme, the embezzlement persisted and totaled approximately $400,000.

Prosecutors also revealed that Haspil had planned to murder Saleh at least three times before successfully carrying out the crime in July 2020. This was reportedly an attempt to cover up the embezzlement and prevent Saleh from potentially serving as a witness against him.

Following Saleh’s death, his company issued a statement highlighting his immense dedication to Nigeria and its youth, stating, “He believed young Nigerians are extremely bright and talented individuals who would flourish if just given the right opportunity.”

The statement added, “Fahim also believed that technology has the power to transform lives and enhance safety and efficiency. He founded Gokada to bring these beliefs to life.”

Gokada, a ride-hailing service in Nigeria, was launched in 2017 and later expanded into logistics and food delivery in 2020.