Crime is on the rise around the country and these two shocking cases are cautionary tales about remain vigilant and being weary of the people in your inner circle.
The Tech Mogul And His Assistant
Tech entrepreneur Fahim Saleh, 33, was found decapitated and dismembered in his $2.25 million Manhattan home in July 2020. Police found his body parts in bags next to a plugged-in power saw, after his cousin requested a wellness check.
He was last seen alive in surveillance video earlier in the week, when he was seen being followed into an elevator in his building by a masked man. The elevator doors were seen opening directly into Saleh’s lux apartment, when the man tased, then stabbed him several times before leaving.
Police said his murderer came back to clean up the scene of the crime a day later, and was actively butchering Saleh’s body, when his cousin rang the doorbell, and he fled the scene.
Saleh’s attacker might have thought he was able to cover his tracks, but investigator’s quickly determined that his assistant was their lead suspect.
Tyrese Haspil, 21, had worked for the venture capitalist for five years, before he was caught embezzling nearly $90,000. When Saleh discovered the theft, he let Haspil to repay his debt in installments, instead of involving the authorities, which proved to be a fatal error.
Law enforcement authorities think that Haspil tried to make the murder look like a professional hit to shift focus off of him, but poor planning and the hasty slaying led to his quick arrest.
A plethora of evidence easily tied Haspil to the murder. He bought a taser with his credit card and signed for it when it was delivered. A day after Saleh’s murder he was caught on camera at Home Depot purchasing cleaning supplies and a power saw.
He also strangely purchased balloons with Saleh’s credit card, which were still in his apartment when police came to arrest him. He plead not guilty to second-degree murder the next day.
True Crime Show Produces A New Lead
Alonzo Brooks’ remains were exhumed from their Topeka, Kansas resting place after an Unsolved Mysteries triggered speculation into his cold case.
The 2022 Netflix show featured the sixteen-year-old cold case in an episode titled No Ride Home, which focused on Alonzo’s April 2004 disappearance , after he was last seen attending a rural gathering that was far from his home.
Brooks, 23, and several friends drove fifty miles to a house party in La Cygne, KS, where he was one of the few Black people in at the gathering. Witnesses say Brooks nearly fought another man over a woman, and was harassed by attendees spitting racial slurs at him.
Alonzo didn’t go home with his friends after the party, and was reported missing by his mother. Local authorities began to search for Brooks a day later, but were only able to locate his hat and boots on the same street the party was on.
Brooks’ family petitioned police to join the search for his body after a month of the case turning up no leads. Unfortunately, they found his remains themselves on the first day of their search.
The local medical examiner could not determine the cause of death, but his family believes that he was the victim of a hate crime. Sixteen years later, the FBI thinks they’re right.
Brooks’ body was exhumed by police in 2020, and they offered a $100,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the people responsible for his suspicious death. Despite the renewed interest in the case, Brooks’ death remains an unsolved cold case as of 2022.