US court sentences American to 40 years for killing, dismembering Gokada founder

A US district court in New York has sentenced Tyrese Haspil to 40 years in prison for the murder of Fahim Saleh, founder of Gokada, a Nigerian ride-hailing  company.

Although Haspil was sentenced on Friday, the 25-year-old American man had been 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 convict, who was Saleh’s personal assistant, had stolen tens of thousands of dollars (estimated total of $400,000) from him before resigning in 2019.

The district attorney’s office said that Haspil repaid Saleh using funds obtained through a PayPal scheme, but “the embezzlement continued reaching an estimated total of $400,000”.

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

They said that 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 a press release.

Saleh’s cousin made the discovery after visiting his apartment having not received any communication from him in 24 hours. She immediately notified the police.

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

The Gokada founder had discovered Haspil’s embezzlement of thousands of dollars from his accounts, to which Haspil had access as his executive assistant since 2018.

The prosecutors say Haspil had plotted to murder Saleh “at least three times” before ultimately carrying out the crime in July 2020.

They say the murder was committed to hide the embezzlement and prevent Saleh from potentially serving as a witness against him.

Gokada is a ride-hailing service in Nigeria which launched in 2017 before diversifying into logistics and food delivery in 2020.