The suspect revealed the final words of the slain tech CEO in court Monday, New York Post reported.
Tyrese Haspil, 25, admitted to killing his former boss, tech CEO Fahim Saleh, during his Manhattan Supreme Court trial. Haspil, previously Saleh’s trusted protégé, described the July 2020 attack, according to the New York Post. The encounter took place in the Lower East Side apartment building, where he attacked Saleh shortly after a seemingly innocuous comment about Haspil’s attire.
Chilling last words of beheaded tech CEO revealed as killer testifies about lavish gifts he gave to French lover https://t.co/uR1EQrFvhD pic.twitter.com/ePOF6S5JFe
— New York Post (@nypost) June 17, 2024
While on the witness stand, Haspil’s attorney asked him about his recollections during the killing. He disclosed that Saleh’s haunting final words were, “What are you doing?” Dressed in a dark plastic face shield, baseball cap and sunglasses, Haspil appeared to take COVID-19 precautions to an extreme, a point noted by Saleh just moments before the attack.
“He commented on my outfit. He said something to the effect of you’re really taking this COVID [personal protection equipment] seriously,” Haspil told his attorney Diane Ackerman from the Legal Aid Society, the outlet reported.
The attack began shortly after they exited the elevator, with Haspil using a taser on Saleh from behind and then fatally stabbing him. (RELATED: Illegal Immigrant Who Beheaded Girlfriend Found Not Guilty)
LISBON, PORTUGAL – NOVEMBER 28: Bodycams and Taser 7 guns on display during a ceremony to deliver them attended by State Secretary for National Defense Carlos Lopes Pires. (Photo by Horacio Villalobos# Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
“He got off the elevator, and I tased him in the back. I remember tasing him in the back,” Haspil recounted calmly, New York Post reported. “I took out a knife and started aiming for his neck.”
The prosecution has painted a picture of a premeditated murder, linking Haspil’s motive to financial desperation. Manhattan prosecutors allege Haspil killed Saleh after embezzling $400,000 and being threatened with criminal charges, the outlet reported. They describe a scenario where Haspil, overwhelmed by financial pressures and a lavish lifestyle fueled by his relationship with his French girlfriend, saw murder as an escape from his financial obligations to Saleh.
Haspil, who pleaded not guilty, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years to life if convicted of first-degree murder. His defense is pushing for a downgraded charge of manslaughter, according to the New York Post.
