- Tyrese Haspil was charged on Friday with second-degree murder in the death of tech CEO Fahim Saleh, who was found dismembered in his apartment on Tuesday.
- In surveillance footage shared by the New York Post, Haspil, 21, was seen shopping for birthday balloons at a store in Manhattan on Wednesday.
- Police sources told The Post that Haspil used Saleh’s credit card to make the purchase.
- The images were taken a day after Fahim Saleh’s body was found, and two days after Saleh was seen entering the elevator of his apartment building with his alleged killer.
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Fahim Saleh’s executive assistant reportedly used the technology CEO’s credit card to buy balloons two days after prosecutors said he killed him.
In a surveillance video shared by the New York Post, Tyrese Haspil, 21, was seen shopping for birthday balloons at a store in Manhattan’s Noho neighborhood on Wednesday, a day after Saleh’s body was found, and two days after they saw him receiving in the elevator of his apartment building with his alleged murderer.
Police sources told The Post that Haspil purchased the balloons with Saleh’s credit card. Meanwhile, police sources told NBC New York that the balloons spelled “22” and were for Haspil’s girlfriend’s birthday.
Other videos seen by The Post show Haspil and a friend shopping on Wednesday and Thursday, carrying bags from the French brand APC and Christian Louboutin.
Haspil was arrested Friday and charged with second-degree murder.
NBC New York reported that Haspil was identified by police through ID cards that had been dropped in the Saleh department.
According to a criminal complaint seen by the news station, Haspil was seen on a surveillance camera buying a saw and cleaning supplies, and on Tuesday he returned to the Saleh condo to dismember the body of his former boss and clean up the murder scene.
As he did so, Saleh’s sister rattled the apartment, causing the killer to flee the building through a different exit.
The New York Times reported Friday that the motive for the murder may have been financial. Saleh learned that Haspil “had stolen tens of thousands of dollars” from him, although he was recently working on a payment plan.
Haspil is being held without bail. His lawyers have urged the public to “keep an open mind” about the case.
“There is much more to this narrative than the allegations, a police arrest and a charge by the district attorney,” they said in a statement to NBC New York.
