Tyrese Haspil, convicted of the 2020 murder and beheading of Fahim Saleh, the founder of Nigerian motorcycle company Gokada, has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison.
The Manhattan judge delivered the sentence after Haspil, 25, shocked the courtroom by requesting a life sentence without parole, breaking with his defense attorney’s argument for leniency.
Haspil was found guilty of second-degree murder, grand larceny, and burglary for killing Saleh in his Manhattan apartment after embezzling $400,000 from him.
Despite Saleh’s efforts to work out a repayment plan rather than pressing charges, Haspil murdered him using a Taser and dismembered his body with an electric saw.
Saleh’s family, devastated by the loss, expressed their desire for Haspil to spend the rest of his life in prison, with his sister calling him a “con man and a murderer.” Prosecutors had initially sought a 50-year sentence.
