Tyrese Devon Haspil, the prime accused in the gruesome murder of Bangladeshi-American tech entrepreneur Fahim Saleh, has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder for allegedly decapitating and dismembering the victim in his luxury New York condo in July.
Haspil, 21, a former executive assistant of Fahim Saleh, entered his not guilty plea via Skype before a state court judge in Manhattan after a grand jury indicted him on upgraded charges of first- and second-degree murder, second-degree grand larceny, second-degree burglary, concealment of a human corpse and tampering with physical evidence, CNN reported citing the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in New York.
Fahim, a co-founder of Bangladeshi ride-sharing company Pathao and the CEO of Nigeria-based ride-hailing firm Gokada, was discovered brutally murdered on July 14, when his sister went to check on him at his apartment on East Houston Street on the Lower East Side.
The victim was last seen alive in a security video that showed him being followed by an individual, which police believe to be Haspil, into his building and then into an elevator.
Haspil handled Saleh's finances and personal matters and allegedly owed his boss tens of thousands of dollars and was on a repayment plan, according to NYPD.
"The victim was a witness to a crime committed on a prior occasion and the death was caused for the purpose of preventing the intended victim's testimony in any criminal action or proceeding whether or not such action or proceeding had been commenced," according to the indictment.
The indictment also charged Haspil with three grand larceny counts for allegedly stealing tens of thousands of dollars from Saleh through PayPal and Intuit transfers.
Court documents said a Makita saw, scissors, a knife, gloves and a mask were found in Saleh's apartment, along with bags containing a head and limbs.
"We're contesting everything here, including the circumstances of the death and whether or not they can prove that this young man had anything at all to do with it," Neville Mitchell, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society's Homicide Defense Task Force, who's representing Haspil, told CNN.
The case was adjourned until January 11.
According to law enforcement officials, Fahim had discovered that Haspil had stolen roughly $90,000 from him. Though Fahim fired Haspil, he did not report the theft, according to The New York Times.