Tyrese Devon Haspil, a 21-year-old Hofstra University student, has pleaded not guilty in the July 14 killing of Fahim Saleh, a 33-year-old Dutchess County native and technology entrepreneur whose endeavors focused on the developing world.
Saleh”™s dismembered body was discovered by a cousin in his Lower Manhattan luxury condo on July 15. Police investigators determined Saleh was originally subdued by a taser and stabbed to death one day earlier, with his assailant returning the following day to dismember the body with an electric saw.
Hapsil worked as Saleh”™s personal assistant but was fired after Saleh discovered Hapsil embezzled approximately $90,000. Hapsil had no previous criminal record and Saleh chose not to press charges. Police investigators cited video evidence from Saleh”™s condo that placed Hapsil at the residence on both the day of the murder and the following day.
Hapsil was formally charged with second-degree murder and is being held without bail. Hapsil”™s lawyers said their client pleaded not guilty and urged the public to exercise the presumption of innocence.
“We urge the public to keep an open mind,” said the lawyers in a statement to The New York Times. “There is much more to this narrative than the accusations, an arrest by the police and a charge by the district attorney.”
Saleh was born in Saudi Arabia to Bangladeshi parents and settled with his family in Rochester before relocating to Dutchess County. Saleh graduated from Bentley University in Massachusetts in 2009 and created the app PrankDial that enabled users to send prerecorded prank calls. Saleh used the revenue from PrankDial to create the ride-sharing apps Pathao for the Bangladeshi market and Gokada for the Nigerian market. He was also a founding partner in the venture capital firm Adventure Capital, which focused on high-tech startups in developing world nations.
In an Instagram posting from earlier this year, Saleh credited entrepreneurs as the force of creating positive changes around the world.
“Entrepreneurs are the ones that really change countries, the ones that really change cities,” he stated. “They”™re the ones who bring the vision, the ones who bring the passion, the ones who bring people together to make amazing things happen.”
