Protégé who decapitated CEO's boss planned girlfriend's birthday despite knowing he wouldn't get away with alleged $400,000 theft: witness

Metro

By Kyle Schnitzer

Protégé Who Beheaded His Tech CEO Boss Knew He'd Get Arrested, But Still Planned 'Most Memorable Birthday' For French Exchange Student Who Took His Virginity an expert testified during his trial Wednesday.

Dr. Barry Rosenfeld, a clinical forensic psychologist who teaches at Fordham University, testified about the romantic relationship between Tyrese Haspil, 25, and his then-girlfriend, Marine Chaveuz, whom he had dated for two years and lived in New York at the time. time.

“That's the first person he had sex with,” Rosenfeld said, recalling Haspil's confession after speaking with him in Manhattan Supreme Court.

“He decided very quickly: this is the love of my life. (He) cannot live without this woman, she means everything to (him).

Haspil allegedly stole $400,000 from his employer and worked to maintain a fake high-profile lifestyle with his girlfriend.

Rosenfeld, who interviewed Haspil three times, testified as an expert witness for the defense in their attempt to prove that Haspil hacked Fahim Saleh, 33, in his Lower East Side apartment in July 2020, as a crime of passion due to “extreme emotional disturbance”. .”

To prove his insanity plea, Rosenfeld was moved to detail Haspil's tumultuous upbringing and shed light on his relationship with Chaveuz.

According to Rosenfeld, Haspil – who never met his father – said his family members repeatedly told him he was the “product of rape” and that he had been sexually assaulted by his father. uncle several times while watching cartoons together.

The expert said Haspil lived a life of abuse, from growing up with a schizophrenic mother, to bouncing around homes and shelters and even ending up asleep on a bench at one point during his teenage years.

Haspil kept this a secret to himself and was never able to settle into a relationship in his life before he started dating Chaveuz in 2018, which is why he was so terrified of losing her, said Rosenfeld.

“He certainly doesn't trust that she'll be with him if he's not who he seems to be,” Rosenfeld explained, detailing the inner workings of Haspil's thinking.

Their relationship was “a little rocky” at first when the two briefly broke up after a month of dating when Chaveuz complained to Haspil that he was working too much and not giving her enough “attention,” testified the psychologist, which left Haspil “miserable.”

He then began making time for her, but it came at a price – he continued to embezzle funds from Saleh, a venture capitalist and CEO of Nigeria-based motorcycle startup Gokada – who became a day complained to Haspil that their working relationship was falling apart because of this. Haspil doesn't work enough, the witness said.

Haspil thought her love story with Chaveuz was going to end in May 2019, when she was supposed to return to France, but she got an internship that earned her an extra year in the Big Apple.

However, that meant Haspil had to continue his charade of exploiting his boss's profits, and he ultimately knew it was going to get him in trouble, Rosenfeld said.

It was revealed that Haspil had already footed the bill for Chaveuz and his friends to spend a weekend at a concert in Florida, all of which was Saleh's responsibility, according to the defense expert, who also said that 'Haspil had previously stolen $20,000 from a restaurant where he worked to finance a semester at Hofstra University.

Haspil's attorney, Sam Roberts, said in opening arguments that Haspil feared she would be “abandoned” by Cheveuz if she found out he had stolen $400,000 from her boss, which prosecutors say was the motive for the horrific Covid-19 killings in 2020.

At one point during the trial, jurors saw receipts for purchases allegedly made by Haspil after the murder, including receipts from Louis Vuitton.

A beige Christian Louboutin tote bag and a box of shoes were found in his loft-style rental apartment on Crosby Street, located across the street from Saleh's apartment, worth $2.4 million, according to evidence.

Haspil has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges, which carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years to life in prison if convicted.

His lawyers hope a jury will convict him of involuntary manslaughter because of his “emotional disturbance” defense, which carries a lighter sentence of five to 25 years.

“He wanted to celebrate Marine’s birthday. The phrase he used was that he needed 'lead,' he needed to spend a little more time with Marine to get through the birthday, and that's all that matters,” Rosenfeld added. .

“She's supposed to go home a few weeks later, but he says, and I believe him, that he was convinced he would get caught.”

Her ex has since returned to France.

The expert will continue his testimony on Thursday.