An assistant to a wealthy New York CEO killed the businessman out of “unconditional love” for his girlfriend and because he feared she would leave him if she found out he was embezzling money from his boss to live a lavish lifestyle, his lawyer argued Friday.
Uncontrollable passion led Tyrese Haspil to an “extreme emotional state” in which he killed financier Fahim Saleh in his Lower East Side apartment in July 2020 and covered up the theft of about $500,000, defense lawyer Sam Roberts told jurors during closing arguments in his Manhattan murder trial.
“This is the first person in 19 years that he's been attached to in any way. Unconditional love,” Roberts said.
The 25-year-old personal assistant has admitted to the murder but claimed lovestruckness drove her to carry it out, in an effort to have her first-degree murder charge reduced to second-degree manslaughter.
The defense argued to jurors in Manhattan Supreme Court that his client was infatuated with Marine Chavez, a French exchange student, and had lavished weekend getaways with her friends and designer goods.
Roberts said he bought her things like helicopter rides to the airport and a luxury apartment because he was afraid she would “dump him” like other people in his life had done.
“He essentially moved into the role of paying for her love,” Roberts told jurors after showing them photos of receipts for Louis Vuitton and other expensive items that Haspil had purchased for Chavuz.
Prosecutors say Haspil's embezzled romance expenses eventually ballooned to $400,000 by May 2020. They accuse him of killing Saleh because he feared his embezzled money would be exposed and he would lose the lifestyle he'd built with it.
“Tyrese Haspil murdered Fahim Saleh. [Saleh] “No one stood between Tyrese Haspil and what he wanted,” said Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Linda Ford.
“Tyrese Haspil got what he wanted. In other words, he It takes What he wants. “
Prosecutors say that as he planned the brutal murder, Haspil overachieved by flaunting a false lifestyle he knew wouldn't last.
“He travels to JFK by helicopter instead of by plane. He lives in a luxury building with a gym instead of a four-story staircase apartment,” Ford said, adding that Haspil was “doing everything with Fahim's money” until Saleh became “a threat to that lifestyle.”
Haspil's lawyers argue that Chavez had been due to return to France a year before the murder, but his stay was extended, which excited Haspil but also meant he realised he would have to keep stealing from Saleh.
Haspil testified at the start of the trial that he had considered suicide but ultimately decided to kill Saleh, CEO of motorbike start-up Gokada, to buy himself time and to give Chavez the best birthday gift possible when he returns to France later in the summer.
Then, when her birthday came around, July 19, Haspil wanted to give her the best birthday ever, so between July 12 and July 14, 2020, he stole $27,739 – the largest amount embezzled – the lawyers alleged.
“He's not crazy about getting away with murder, he's crazy about buying gold balloons for his birthday,” Roberts said.
But the prosecution did not buy the murder excuse, arguing that Haspil's greed predated finding his one true love.
“He takes Uber to high school,” Ford joked, referring to Haspil's previous admission that he embezzled $20,000 from Moe's Southwestern Grill, where he once worked, before creating a fake resume to land the job with Saleh.
Haspil's first-degree murder conviction carries a minimum sentence of 20 years to life in prison if convicted.
If the lawyers can convince the jury to accept the emotional instability defense, the charge could be reduced to manslaughter, which carries a sentence of only five to 25 years.
He also faces grand theft, burglary and other charges for allegedly stealing from Saleh.
Haspil testified that he killed Saleh so he wouldn't have to pay him back and because he knew his girlfriend would not find out he was stealing money to support their relationship.
Haspil's lawyers argue that a tough childhood with an abusive mother and moving between homes left him fearing abandonment, which is why he felt compelled to prove his worth to Chavez.
Prosecutors told jurors those allegations were not worthy of belief.
“This isn't about a birthday party,” Ford said, recalling Haspil's childhood.
“This is a case where Fahim Saleh was killed because he was a witness… That's all.”
Jury deliberations begin Monday.
