Tyrese Haspil, the 25-year-old former assistant of Pathao co-founder Fahim Saleh, has been found guilty of murdering and dismembering his boss in a Manhattan high-rise apartment, New York Post reported.

The jury rejected Haspil's defense that he killed out of "unconditional love" for his girlfriend, whom he was trying to impress.

Prosecutors argued that Haspil committed the crime to cover up his theft of $400,000 from Saleh. Haspil now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for his first-degree murder conviction.

Jurors in Manhattan Supreme Court reached a verdict in just three hours, convicting Haspil on all charges related to using a Taser to incapacitate the Bangladeshi-American entrepreneur, followed by fatally stabbing him inside Saleh’s $2.4 million seventh-floor condo on East Houston Street.

During the month-long trial, Haspil calmly testified to the murder of his former mentor, a venture capitalist and also the CEO of the Nigeria-based scooter startup Gokada.

Wearing a dark plastic face shield along with a baseball cap and sunglasses, Haspil rode the elevator with Saleh just moments before the murder, as trial evidence disclosed.

Haspil testified that while riding up, Saleh jokingly remarked about his serious approach to COVID-related personal protective equipment.

"After the tech CEO exited the elevator, 'I Tased him in the back. I remember Tasing him in the back,' Haspil told jurors."

"I then took out a knife and aimed for his neck," the convicted killer testified.

"Just before his tragic demise, Saleh shouted, 'What are you doing?'" Haspil recalled.

Haspil's defense attorneys argued that he committed the murder under "extreme emotional disturbance," pointing out that he lavished expensive gifts on his French exchange student girlfriend to maintain a facade of wealth and success.

According to his lawyers, Haspil killed Saleh out of a sense of "unconditional love" for his girlfriend, fearing that she would leave him upon discovering he had embezzled from his employer.

Despite his attorneys' plea for a manslaughter conviction instead of premeditated murder, the jury unanimously rejected these arguments on Monday.

Haspil could receive a sentence of up to 25 years to life in prison when he is sentenced on September 10.

"Tyrese Haspil tragically ended Mr. Saleh's life—a man who emerged from a tight-knit immigrant family and pursued his dreams to become a successful entrepreneur," stated Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

"I hope today's verdict, which holds him accountable, brings some solace to Mr. Saleh's grieving loved ones," added Bragg, who personally attended Friday's closing arguments in the trial.

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