U.S.

Person in custody after tech CEO found dismembered in his luxury NYC condo

July 17, 2020 / 11:14 AM EDT / CBS/AP

A person was taken into custody in the killing of a 33-year tech entrepreneur who was found dismembered inside his luxury Manhattan condo, law enforcement officials said Friday. The person in custody had worked as Fahim Saleh's personal assistant, police sources told CBS New York.

Saleh was found at around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday inside his luxury seventh floor apartment on the Lower East Side.

A relative called police after going to check on Saleh and making the gruesome discovery. Responding officers discovered a clothed torso, bags containing a head and arms and an electric saw in the living room, police had said.

Fahim Saleh, Co-founder/CEO of Gokada explains his company's operation during an interview with Reuters in Lagos, Nigeria May 3, 2019. Picture taken May 3, 2019. Temilade Adelaja / REUTERS

Investigators had recovered security video showing Saleh exiting an elevator that leads directly into the full-floor, two-bedroom apartment earlier Tuesday afternoon, closely followed by a masked person dressed entirely in black according to another law enforcement official who was briefed on the case. It also shows a struggle between the two that ensued at the entrance to the apartment, said the official, who wasn't authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Police believe that the relative may have interrupted the intruder before that person fled out a back exit.

The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide after an autopsy found the cause of death was multiple stab wounds to the body.

Saleh was the chief executive officer of a ride-hailing motorcycle startup called Gokada that began operating in Nigeria in 2018.

View this post on Instagram

We at Gokada are shocked and saddened to hear that Fahim Saleh, our founder and CEO, passed away under tragic circumstances in New York earlier this week. Fahim's passion for Nigeria and its youth was immeasurable. He believed young Nigerians are extremely bright and talented individuals who would flourish if just given the right opportunity. Fahim also believed that technology can transform lives and improve safety and efficiency. He built Gokada to act upon these beliefs. Under Fahim's leadership, Gokada has grown to become Nigeria's leading fully integrated delivery and logistics company, with outstanding growth and profitability metrics. As painful as these last days have been for us, we at Gokada owe it to ourselves and to Fahim's memory to act and fulfill his vision for the company and for Nigerian youth. RIP, Fahim. You will be missed by everyone at Gokada and by the entire Nigerian startup community.

A post shared by Gokada - We do delivery now (@gokadang) on Jul 15, 2020 at 10:47am PDT

Saleh's LinkedIn biography described him as a self-taught businessman who founded Gokada, building on his experience of first "seeing an opportunity in his parent's native country of Bangladesh" and starting that country's largest ride-sharing company. It said he also invested in a similar venture in Colombia.

Police have been looking into whether a business dispute may be behind this, but the motive for his murder still remains unclear, CBS New York reports.

Apartments in the 10-story building where Saleh's remains were found sell for more than $2 million. The building was completed in 2017 as part of a wave of gentrification in the neighborhood.