By December, Haspil had created a bogus corporate entity and bank account into which he funnelled more money.
In May 2019, fearing he would be discovered, Haspil resigned from his position as Saleh’s assistant, though he continued to steal money in increasingly large amounts even after his departure, prosecutors said.
Sure enough, in January 2020, Haspil’s scheme was detected. Saleh confronted Haspil about a $US35,000 ($52,000) debt, prosecutors said, and offered to settle it with a two-year repayment plan, instead of bringing criminal charges against him.
Haspil agreed. But Saleh did not know that Haspil had stolen far more from him in a different scheme, involving a fraudulent PayPal account. Haspil began paying him back with those stolen funds even as he continued operating that scheme, eventually amassing about $US400,000 in stolen funds, prosecutors said.
Concerned that his more lucrative theft would also be discovered, Haspil began plotting to kill Saleh to prevent him from testifying against him in any criminal proceedings, prosecutors said.
What followed was a meticulously researched and executed killing that some investigators theorised at the time had been planned by Haspil to look like a professional assassination.
Haspil spent weeks researching the technology, weapons and cleaning supplies needed to carry out and cover up a homicide, prosecutors said. He purchased clothing to conceal his identity, and he tracked Saleh’s whereabouts on social media in preparation.
That May, Haspil decided to murder Saleh in his home and made two more web searches – for the anatomy of the human neck, and for Saleh’s building plans. In June, he purchased contractor-grade trash bags, a floor cleaning tool and a saw.
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Then, early in the morning of July 13, Haspil entered Saleh’s Manhattan apartment building wearing a black suit and an opaque face mask. He followed Saleh into an elevator, which opened directly into his apartment, subdued him with a Taser and fatally stabbed him.
He left the apartment and returned the following day to dismember Saleh’s body with an electric saw, but left again to purchase a battery charger. While he was out, Saleh’s cousin went to check on him and discovered the scene.
Haspil was arrested four days after the murder at an Airbnb he had booked for his girlfriend’s birthday celebration.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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