Simply days after the physique of Fahim Saleh, a profitable tech entrepreneur, was discovered dismembered in his luxurious condominium in Manhattan in July 2020, his former private assistant, Tyrese Haspil, made a sequence of unsettling internet searches.

“Fahim Saleh.” “Homicide of tech C.E.O. in New York.” “Dismembered physique.”

The search queries had been simply a few of the chilling particulars that emerged throughout Mr. Haspil’s homicide trial this month in Manhattan Legal Court docket. And on Monday jurors convicted him of stealing a whole lot of 1000’s of {dollars} from Mr. Saleh — after which killing him and slicing up his physique in an effort to hide what he had performed.

Mr. Haspil, 25, of Brooklyn is anticipated to be sentenced on Sept. 10.

“Tyrese Haspil tragically minimize Mr. Saleh’s life brief — a person who got here from a close-knit immigrant household and adopted his passions to turn into a profitable entrepreneur,” mentioned Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district lawyer, in a press release saying the conviction on Monday. “I hope the accountability delivered by as we speak’s verdict can present a measure of consolation to Mr. Saleh’s family members as they proceed to mourn his loss.”

Mr. Saleh, 33, was born in Saudi Arabia to Bangladeshi dad and mom and grew up in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. He was the founding father of two bike ride-sharing corporations, based mostly in Bangladesh and Nigeria, the latter of which raised hundreds of thousands in enterprise capital. After his dying, he was remembered as an revolutionary businessman and a beneficiant good friend.

Sam Roberts, Mr. Haspil’s lawyer, mentioned on Monday that he was upset by the decision. He acknowledged that Mr. Haspil had dedicated the crime and mentioned the killer felt regret. “We absolutely consider that Tyrese Haspil will not be solely and solely the worst factor that he’s performed in his life,” he mentioned. “We hope that the courtroom will perceive that there are mitigating elements right here.”

Mr. Haspil’s ill-fated scheme started within the fall of 2018, when he was working as Mr. Saleh’s entrepreneurial assistant and started stealing cash from his corporations to buy lavish presents for his new girlfriend.

By December, Mr. Haspil had created a bogus company entity and checking account into which he funneled extra money.

In Might 2019, fearing he can be found, Mr. Haspil resigned from his place as Mr. Saleh’s assistant, although he continued to steal cash in more and more massive quantities even after his departure, prosecutors mentioned.

Positive sufficient, in January 2020, Mr. Haspil’s scheme was detected. Mr. Saleh confronted Mr. Haspil over a $35,000 debt, prosecutors mentioned, and supplied to settle it with a two-year compensation plan, as an alternative of bringing legal costs in opposition to him.

Mr. Haspil agreed. However Mr. Saleh didn’t know that Mr. Haspil had stolen much more from him in a distinct scheme, involving a fraudulent PayPal account. Mr. Haspil started paying him again with these stolen funds whilst he continued working that scheme, ultimately amassing about $400,000 in stolen funds, prosecutors mentioned.

Involved that his extra profitable theft would even be found, Mr. Haspil started plotting to kill Mr. Saleh to stop him from testifying in opposition to him in any legal proceedings, prosecutors mentioned.

What adopted was a meticulously researched and executed killing that some investigators theorized on the time had been deliberate by Mr. Haspil to appear to be knowledgeable assassination.

Mr. Haspil spent weeks researching the know-how, weapons and cleansing provides wanted to hold out and canopy up a murder, prosecutors mentioned. He bought clothes to hide his id, and he tracked Mr. Saleh’s whereabouts on social media in preparation.

That Might, Mr. Haspil determined to homicide Mr. Saleh in his residence and made two extra internet searches — for the anatomy of the human neck, and for Mr. Saleh’s constructing plans. In June, he bought contractor-grade trash baggage, a Swiffer flooring cleansing device and a noticed.

Then, early within the morning of July 13, Mr. Haspil entered Mr. Saleh’s Manhattan condominium constructing carrying a black go well with and an opaque face masks. He adopted Mr. Saleh into an elevator, which opened straight into his condominium, subdued him with a Taser and fatally stabbed him.

He left the condominium and returned the next day to dismember Mr. Saleh’s physique with an electrical noticed, however left once more to buy a battery charger. Whereas he was out, Mr. Saleh’s cousin went to examine on him and found the scene.

Mr. Haspil was arrested 4 days after the homicide at an Airbnb he had booked for his girlfriend’s birthday celebration.