A personal assistant convicted of killing and dismembering his former tech entrepreneur boss Fahim Saleh was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison on Tuesday, AP reports quoting Manhattan's district attorney.

Saleh, the co-founder of the Bangladesh ride-sharing app Pathao and CEO of Nigeria-based motorbike startup Gokada, was found dead in his Manhattan apartment in July 2020.

Tyrese Haspil, 25, was found guilty in June of murder, stealing about $400,000 from Saleh, and other charges in the 2020 death of his former boss.

Prosecutors said Haspil had been hired as an assistant for Saleh, who started to siphon money from Saleh's businesses. Haspil resigned a year later but continued to steal money, even after Saleh discovered the theft and let Haspil repay him over two years to avoid criminal prosecution.

Haspil decided to kill Saleh over concerns that his former boss would discover he was continuing to steal from his companies, prosecutors said.

On July 13, 2020, Haspil, wearing a black suit and a mask, followed Saleh into the lift of his luxury apartment building in Manhattan and shocked him in the back with a taser when the lift doors opened into Saleh's apartment. Saleh fell to the floor and Haspil stabbed him to death, authorities said.

Haspil returned to the apartment the next day to dismember the body with an electric saw but eventually left to purchase a charger after the saw’s battery died. While Haspil was out, Saleh’s cousin arrived at the apartment and discovered the dismembered body.

Police arrested Haspil days later.

BDST: 1208 HRS, SEPT 12, 2024
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