Murdered tech entrepreneur's sister shares emotional essay about brother and explains how his body was rebuilt for funeral
The sister of a millionaire tech chief executive who was dismembered in his apartment created a tribute to her brother and shed light on the methods used to prepare his body for his funeral.
Fahim Saleh, 33, was decapitated and mutilated in his apartment with an electric saw on 13 July in Manhattan.
Tyrese Devon Haspil, 21, was charged with his murder last month after authorities found that he had embezzled $100,000 from Mr Saleh's company.
With her brother's brutal death only a month past, Mr Selah's sister, Ruby Angela Saleh, 41, wrote an essay on Medium dedicated to her brother.
She described her brother as "healthy, vibrant, creative, beautiful" and recalled first learning about the murder and having to identify her brother's body remotely as a result of the coronavirus.
She recalled her cousin going to Fahim's apartment to check on him and finding his remains.
"'She found his torso in his living room,' my sister said. "I have to go. I'm with the detective,'" Ruby wrote. "I dropped the phone and crawled onto the wooden floor, touching its cold, hard surface with the palms of my hands. I shook my head. 'No, no,' I said, my hair falling on my face. 'What are they saying?'"
Ruby was tasked with planning her brother's funeral. When she learned from the funeral home that they would not be able to reconnect her brother's limbs, she pleaded with them to at least ensure his body parts were all in their proper places in the casket.
"Upon receiving that news, I closed my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest like a Pharaoh, squeezing my phone against my body. My hands formed first that I pushed into my heart with all my strength to contain my pain," she wrote. "Then I pleaded with the man to make sure all of my sweet brother's body parts were in their proper places in the casket."
The day before the funeral, Ruby said she received another call from the funeral home.
"It wasn't easy, but we were able to put him back together," the individual said.
She said her brother's body was covered with a sheet, and that ice packs had been placed on his torso. His father and mother said their goodbyes, and later Fahim was lowered into the ground.
"As the cemetery workers lowered my brother's casket into the ground, my father stood at the head of the grave and shouted, "Fahim, don't go. Fahim, don't go. Fahim, Fahim, Fahim, Fahim...."
Ruby anticipates a difficult Thanksgiving as her and her family continue to mourn the loss of her brother. She says her mother can't sleep at night, and her father spends his time reading about his son's accomplishments and caring for Fahim's dog.
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