
Co-founder of Gokada found decapitated, dismembered inside New York condo - ryanmccullagh
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-headless-torso-found-manhattan-20200714-rz25uxzsejgrxnsk4rd22vf7hq-story.html
======
ianwalter
Wow, I went to school with Fahim at Bentley University. Although we shared
friends, I didn't know him personally. I did take computer science classes
with him and it was clear he was one of the most talented students in the
program. This is so unbelievably sad and shocking. My heart goes out to his
friends and family.

------
flyingfences
> The condos in the building are full-floor and the keyed elevator opens right
> into the apartment.

Doesn't this mean that anybody with the [widely, publicly known] FDNY elevator
override key can get right into the apartment? I've seen far too many physical
pentesting talks (i.e. any at all) to trust a setup like that for my home in a
city.

~~~
azinman2
Would you have a house with windows on the street? Do you walk outside without
body armor and a bullet proof vest? Get in a cab... without knowing the driver
or having bullet proof glass?

Society wouldn't be very fun or fruitful if we all lived in secure underground
bunkers.

~~~
chaostheory
Welcome to life outside of developed countries. This is life even for some
countries considered 'developed'.

~~~
IAmEveryone
While there is _some_ correlation of murder rates and GDP, it's rather noisy:
[https://wernerantweiler.ca/blog/2017-10-04-a.pdf](https://wernerantweiler.ca/blog/2017-10-04-a.pdf)

The GINI seems to be a somewhat better fit:
[https://i.imgur.com/vYSsLMw.png](https://i.imgur.com/vYSsLMw.png)

~~~
andi999
I am not convinced by the gini fit. There must be something else. Apart from
that: because of not keeping up with stats, i always thought that south africa
has the most murder per capita (apart from war zones). What has happened:
Jamaica is almost double. Did SA get better or did central america take a
significant slide downwards?

------
adenozine
How horrible. Why would someone do this? I'd never heard of Gokada, it looks
like such a cool thing for a developing country.

I wonder what the motivation was. It doesn't seem like a market where there'd
be the political pressure to assassinate someone. Maybe if there was someone
trying to rethink the way pharmaceuticals or something, I could understand a
CEO getting chopped into pieces by some shadowy figure, but ridesharing? It
benefits everyone to carpool and use fewer cars to get people from place to
place.

Ugh. God bless his family.

~~~
filleduchaos
It's worth noting that there was a sudden & pretty draconian regulation passed
early this year that gutted Gokada's primary business (ridesharing on
motorbikes). He was very passionate in his disagreement with the government's
decision. The company pivoted pretty neatly (in my opinion) to last-mile
deliveries instead - the pandemic certainly helped drive demand - but
currently there's morbid speculation that potential financial struggles on
Gokada's part might have been a factor in his murder. There's also the
possibility of someone in power being displeased at how vocal he was about the
regulation.

~~~
adenozine
Okay, to play devil's advocate for a moment.

What is there to gain financially from killing him, if his previous business
was gutted by regulatory changes?

The killer was evidently belonging to a highly capable skillset, and I'm
extrapolating that they very nearly got away with his body in tow, and nobody
would've been the wiser.

Could they not have kidnapped him and ransomed the company? If there's
financial qualms on the board, I just don't understand why they'd just kill
him then. If they went to deliveries, does that mean other delivery couriers
are to be scrutinized?

Maybe he was involved with something dirty?

If it was a state agent of Nigeria that is responsible, idk, that'd be
geopolitical suicide, putting hits out on private entrepreneurs across
national borders...

Of course, had they gotten away, it may have seemed as though he just
vanished, which I suppose is the ideal scenario for a state-sanctioned
killing.

Ugh. This is beyond horrible all the way around.

~~~
marcinzm
>that'd be geopolitical suicide

Saudi Arabia seems to be doing fine last I checked.

~~~
yardie
Saudi Arabia carried out an extrajudicial killing in a small, neighboring
state. This was carried out in the US. And for all intents and purposes could
be considered an act of war against a state that has an unlimited war chest.

~~~
zyngaro
Turkey isn’t small in any way. It’s a regional powerhouse.

~~~
giancarlostoro
Not to mention and I guess a lot of people dont know this but Turkey was one
of the main allies of the USA not too long ago for quite a while at that. It
was quite a strategic alliance too. Just look at Turkeys neighboring countries
sometime.

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey%E2%80%93United_States...](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey%E2%80%93United_States_relations)

------
chubot
Uh wow, I never heard of this company or person, but this is horrible and
tragic. However I just read "The Upstarts", the 2017 book about AirBNB and
Uber.

It specifically mentions that 2 rideshare leaders felt their lives were
threatened by local competition. I believe it was the original founder of
Seamless in NYC, and an early executive at Uber, I believe when they were
launching in NYC. Apparently it's not uncommon for taxis and limos to be have
connections to local crime.

I have no idea if that happened here, but I've also never heard of a story
like this in the tech startup world.

~~~
agustif
Escobar owned all taxis in Medellin

~~~
everybodyknows
Our president's former attorney owned a taxi business:

[https://www.npr.org/2018/05/13/610849891/michael-cohens-
trou...](https://www.npr.org/2018/05/13/610849891/michael-cohens-troubled-
taxi-business)

------
jb775
Looks like Gokada had investors in America, South Africa, and Dubai[1], did
most of their motorcycle ride-hailing business in Nigeria, but Nigeria
recently banned passenger motorcycles which was obviously a huge blow to the
business.

His investors probably weren't too thrilled seeing him live in a multi-million
$ NYC condo shortly after their substantial investments tanked.

[1] [https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/gokada#section-
inves...](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/gokada#section-investors)

~~~
grugagag
They could have abducted or blackmailed him but killing him like that makes no
sense from an investors POV, they get nothing back and the risk of getting
caught.

Hope he will get justice

~~~
rndgermandude
They get him dead, which can enough for some particularly evil people with a
grudge.

Look at e.g. (probably) the FSB poisoning Litvinenko, six years after he fled
to the UK. After six years there wasn't much to gain for the FSB other than
making an example out of him and retribution.

~~~
grugagag
Yes but this is diferent though. Those were ex spies who “talked” and wanted
to send a message to other spies as in “if you talk we’ll find you anywhere”.

~~~
ganoushoreilly
The same could be said that if you don't make good on investments or "the
take" if there was one, you are handled.

Not saying I agree, but I can see where the circumstances aren't different.

------
strogonoff
The terrible tragedy of the incident aside, graphic details hint at this being
a very costly signal. The sender(s) of the signal must feel threatened, but
generally consider themselves immune to American law enforcement.

Although many circumstances are unknown to me, at first approach this looks
like a sad illustration of the intense frontier between new business models
powered by emerging technology and entrenched business interests in many parts
of the world.

Judging by Gokada’s business model, the signal is probably intended to deter
any further attempts at competing with local taxi and limo businesses.

------
escape_goat
Fahim Saleh was born in Saudi Arabia and was killed in a manner that "appeared
professional" and then dismembered.

This could easily be an atrocious crime by an individual or related to — for
instance — organized crime in Nigeria, but it is sobering that one of the
usual suspects when something like this happens is a state actor.

~~~
devalgo
I'm not a defender of Saudi Arabia but besides him being born there how is it
relevant? He does business in Africa and was educated in and lives in the US.
Is there any indication he was a anti-Saudi activist? I don't see any so why
should that be brought up at all?

~~~
escape_goat
I haven't found any indication that he said anything against the Saudi regime.
I brought it up because he appears to have been executed according to a
professional (if bungled) plan reminiscent of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi by
the Saudi state. I think it merits contemplation any time anyone with Saudi
connections is professionally murdered and dismembered.

~~~
devalgo
Sure but Khashoggi was a very high profile Journalist and Activist and that
happened on Turkish soil. An assassination like that in the US would be a
dramatic change in their behavior and politically very hazardous.

~~~
electro_blah
lol. dude, Turkish goons beat the shit out of American people in front of
cameras and got way with it.

~~~
dontcarethrow2
I would just like to add, on American soil.

------
opportune
Probably too early to speculate on motives but it’s interesting to me that he
was running a Nigerian tech company. Wonder if he stepped on the wrong
person’s toes. It looks like authorities were trying to shut it down on some
trumped up safety disputes (which likely means they were not giving out enough
bribes)

~~~
ejanus
Motorcycles kill thousands every year in Nigeria. It kills more than cars and
buses combined. Such business has been banned virtually in all state capitals
in Nigeria for about a decade ago. Lagos state was the only major state where
such was functioning until lately.

~~~
Samuyi
This is false. The ban was more political than a safety issue.

~~~
ejanus
Why would you say that? The state wants to modernise and they decided to do
away with something that is not safe.

Could you explain the political side in it? We already had motorcycles in
Lagos because Gokada arrived on the scene. A lot of other okadas owned by
thousands of people were also knocked out. Even keke

------
RubberShoes
Drove by the scene yesterday afternoon and there were reporters and camera
crews extended into the street. A ton of commotion and now I know why.

I think this is getting more attention than it deserves because its ripe with
"what ifs" that allow one's imagination to run wild. Politically motivated,
absolutely brutal, and in an environment that is designed to shield one from
any harm. My heart goes to his family and friends - no matter what someone has
done in life they don't deserve this ending.

------
bot_a_not
I knew Fahim, met him several times and hung out with him when he was
investing in Pathao and HackHouse in Bangladesh. He was the type of person who
would hang out with you having beers and you'd be shooting the shit about an
idea for a startup and he'd end up going home, writing up the code all night
and send you a link in the morning with a registered operating version of the
site. He dealt with a lot of the same issues of shady regulators, broken
ecosystem back then in Bangladesh but having his roots from there may have
made things easier to navigate. Uggh I still can't believe how gruesome this
is. I'm devastated for his family, the world is a horrible place a lot of
times.

------
ogre_codes
> The death was not immediately labeled a homicide, and a Police Department
> spokesman said that the medical examiner’s office would determine the cause
> of death.

Umm. I think it's safe to rule suicide out when the corpse was dismembered
with a saw.

~~~
atombender
There have been cases where people have committed crimes (often on the books
as "desecration of a human corpse") while trying to cover up accidents or
suicides. Not saying it's the case here, but there's no point in jumping to
conclusions.

~~~
ogre_codes
You are correct. It was a poor (and in poor taste) attempt to be snarky.

------
agrocrag
"Police source say a business deal gone bad is being investigated as a motive
for the killing. There’s no indication that NYPD detective are eyeing past
controversies involving PrankDial."

Seems like some other moving pieces in play with his past startup.

"The tech bro found sliced into pieces in his $2.25 million Lower East Side
condo made a name for himself by creating a prank phone call app that led to
the downfall of a Hudson County, N.J. jail honcho."

[https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-prankdial-app-
hudson...](https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-prankdial-app-hudson-
county-jail-wiretap-case-20200715-57qvtdrdjfcfhixhcxdj3t4a6u-story.html)

~~~
cellar_door
Describing him as a "tech bro" in the first line is needlessly derogatory.
Implying he deserved it. Like calling a rape victim "scantily clad." Pretty
gross journalism if you ask me: designed to create outrage and drive clicks.

~~~
ficklepickle
They also refer to his startup as "Gorkada" multiple times. If they managed to
screw that up, I don't have a lot if faith in the rest of the article.

------
woko
It reminds me of the killing of Jamal Khashoggi
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamal_Khashoggi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamal_Khashoggi)),
and then this appears in the article. Coincidence?

> According to a 2016 blog profile, Mr. Saleh was born in Saudi Arabia, and
> moved with his family quite a bit before settling in Rochester, N.Y., and,
> later, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

~~~
newacct583
With Khashoggi we had a clear motive for the killing, though. It's not at all
clear who wanted Saleh dead, and in particular why Saudi should be involved at
all. It's merely where he was born, not the target of his opinion writing
(note also that per the article he's Bangladeshi ethinically, not Saudi).

~~~
ryanisnan
The Saudi government is corrupt AF and doesn't need much in the way for
justification for killing people?

Also the US leadership is so incompetent at the moment, seems like a good time
for other countries to do whatever TF they want.

------
dredds
Update: "..a personal assistant of a young tech entrepreneur ... was arrested
early on Friday and is expected to be charged in the grisly killing."

Lots of prior speculation, but this early arrest will be some small comfort to
his family and friends.

------
ed25519FUUU
> _Inside the man 's living room, sources say it appeared the killer worked
> hard to cover their tracks, but was perhaps interrupted or got spooked
> before getting rid of the evidence._

Uh, those luxury apartments have cameras _everywhere_. Why would they think
they could cover anything?

~~~
ihattendorf
The camera probably doesn't matter too much if you have a mask. It's probably
more important to remove physical evidence than to worry about additional
video evidence.

~~~
ocdtrekkie
And wearing a mask in public is perfectly normalized in New York right now, so
it doesn't even draw any unwanted attention.

------
codecamper
Why has nobody pointed out that we need ways to launch products anonymously.
When one coder can upend a market that is controlled by mafia, that one coder
needs a way to remain anonymous.

The problem is that to publish an App with Apple or Google you cannot be
anonymous, correct?

~~~
amadeuspagel
Accepting payments is another problem, but the most important one is taking
investment and hiring people.

------
filleduchaos
This story broke in the early hours of the morning here. Deeply horrific
stuff; my heart particularly hurts for his sister.

The manner of his death is ominous. For the sake of the people it employs and
the businesses it enables, I hope Gokada weathers this.

------
pcvarmint
[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/nyregion/fahim-saleh-
susp...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/nyregion/fahim-saleh-suspect-
tyrese-devon-haspil.html)

[https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/17/us/fahim-saleh-
killing/index....](https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/17/us/fahim-saleh-
killing/index.html)

------
Accacin
There's a lot of speculation going on here, and I do not think it helps. I
feel incredibly sorry for his family, especially his sister. I cannot even
imagine what it would be like to walk in on a family member murdered in such a
brutal fashion.

------
stanfordkid
What a tragedy. If this has ties to any foreign business or government entity,
I truly hope that the U.S government and military forces take swift and lethal
action.

Sometimes I feel like this is the sort of thing where the justice system and
public media just don't work... send some SEALS to knock out whoever did this.
It reminds me of the type of thing that happens with central american drug
lords.

I wish the article talked about such political issues instead of the weird
sort of implied schadenfreude with regards to his material possessions and
postings on instagram.

~~~
AlexandrB
1\. Are you advocating for committing an act of war in response to this?

2\. Jamal Khashoggi was similarly butchered and there's little doubt about the
perpetrator's identity, yet we still trade with them and accept their VC money
for our tech startups. I wouldn't hold my breath for a serious response unless
the perpetrator turns out to be a government we already don't like.

~~~
chrisin2d
I think that the FBI and our government should use every tool at their
disposal to find the killer(s) and their sponsor and bring them to justice. If
the perpetrators are sheltered by an uncooperative country, then we should
apply diplomatic pressure.

All murder is tragic and horrible. I think that assassination—of journalists,
entrepreneurs, activists, and so on—to be an especially abhorrent category of
murder, because it is intellectual terrorism and has an outsized impact. A
single murder is a tragedy to a family, a community — but a single
assassination is a tragedy to all of society. The plausible fear of being
killed for challenging an industry incumbent, a corrupt politician, or an
unscrupulous business places a sword of Damocles above any would-be upstart.
It pre-emptively silences voices and minds and reduces a society's capacity
for progress.

------
imranq
The amount of speculation in the comments is surprising for HN. There are very
few facts established so far.

What a tragedy. God bless his family.

------
ak39
Can you imagine the maladaptive psychology required to wield a knife to calmly
dismember, decapitate and butcher another human being?

~~~
anonAndOn
They're called pathologists and they usually do autopsies. [0]

[0][https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6288235/Saudi-
autop...](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6288235/Saudi-autopsy-
expert-butchered-Jamal-Khashoggi-trained-Britain.html)

------
neonate
[https://archive.is/ltGpQ](https://archive.is/ltGpQ)

------
Penguinx628
A stringer captured this video below of a similar incident that happened
recently in New York. Could this be related/ him?

[https://youtu.be/iJIImjO9lVw](https://youtu.be/iJIImjO9lVw)

~~~
CommieBobDole
Looking at the address on Street View, it definitely appears to be the same
building.

------
mola
What's up with the real estate byline?

~~~
cameronfraser
I think it was like, "Oh my god rich people can die"

------
sacredcows
His company's wikipedia page is being edited to remove any mention of his
death. Quite suspicious

~~~
Acrobatic_Road
More like one user made a single revert that will soon be reverted.

------
jeffbee
The focus on the cost of the victim’s dwelling is so weird. I hope when they
find my body they don’t waste half the article projecting local housing policy
onto me, as if it were my fault.

~~~
opencl
Poor people get murdered all the time, a rich person getting murdered is
newsworthy.

~~~
mywittyname
If a poor person were murdered like this, it would be newsworthy.

The fact that this may be a politically charged murder makes it even more
newsworthy.

~~~
vkou
> If a poor person were murdered like this, it would be newsworthy.

> The fact that this may be a politically charged murder makes it even more
> newsworthy.

No, it wouldn't be. And I can tell you why.

A suitcase stuffed with parts from two (recently) dismembered bodies was found
on a Seattle beach two or three weeks ago. [1]

Neither of the deceased were tech entrepreneurs, and, unsurprisingly, this did
not make Hacker News, nor more than a whisper on the national media circus. I
presume you haven't heard about it, either.

Now, tell me, was that also a politically charged murder? [2] What makes you
immediately ascribe the politically charged label to the tech entrepreneur
case?

[1]
[https://www.google.com/search?q=akai+beach+suitcase&oq=alki+...](https://www.google.com/search?q=akai+beach+suitcase&oq=alki+beach+suitcase&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l2.3844j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)

[2] Hell, Seattle stopped talking about it after a few days.

~~~
monoideism
> Neither of the deceased were tech entrepreneurs, and, unsurprisingly, this
> did not make Hacker News,

Why did you expect? This is a community of programmers and tech entrepreneurs.
We get articles all the time on the front page about deceased programmers,
computer scientists, and tech entrepreneurs. This poor guy was a tech
entrepreneur.

~~~
JKCalhoun
You removed from the OP quote:

> nor more than a whisper on the national media circus. I presume you haven't
> heard about it, either.

~~~
monoideism
I was addressing his specific insinuation about HN. If this was just about
national media, why even mention HN otherwise in that comment?

No, the clear implication was that there was some kind of double standard in
HN here.

I'm not addressing the rest of his comment, which may or may not be true. But
the first part is clearly misleading, or at best uncharitable.

Finally, the full comment is available for all to see by looking up exactly a
quarter screen. I didn't "remove" anything-I pulled the quote pertaining to
the issue that concerned me.

------
1zael
This may be socio-politically related. Extremists from Bangladesh (his
original country) are known to use hacking and dismemberment as a terror
tactic.

------
alpha_squared
> Condos in the building feature Italian marble kitchens and master baths,
> white oak floors and asking prices in the $2 million to $2.5 million range,
> according to the real estate website StreetEasy. The website Curbed noted in
> a 2017 article that access to the building’s units was via a private, keyed
> elevator.

This is such a strange paragraph to read in an article like this. I see the
relevance of the last sentence, but the rest just feels jarring. Is that
normal for pieces like this?

~~~
libraryatnight
The whole article has this weird tone like it's part of a hard boiled
detective novel: “You kind of forget New York City is New York City
sometimes,” she said.

I like hard boiled detective novels, but it felt weird here when I reminded
myself this isn't a short story, this is a real man who was just murdered with
family and friends and neighbors.

~~~
alpha_squared
The byline has three names. Including an editor, does that means four sets of
eyes saw no problem or had no concern with how this piece was presented? It's
such an unfortunate event and I can only imagine how many people will be
directly impacted by it. The tone is just so jarring.

------
dang
We changed the url from [https://abc7chicago.com/ny-tech-entrepreneur-found-
decapitat...](https://abc7chicago.com/ny-tech-entrepreneur-found-decapitated-
dismembered-inside-luxury-condo/6318409) to one with more information and no
autoplaying video.

If anyone can suggest a better URL, we can change it again.

~~~
filleduchaos
As far as I'm aware, this is the article that broke the story:
[https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-
headless-t...](https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-headless-
torso-found-manhattan-20200714-rz25uxzsejgrxnsk4rd22vf7hq-story.html). I first
saw it around 5AM Lagos time. As a bonus there's no paywall.

I am not sure but I think the coverage might come across as a bit tabloid-y
however.

~~~
dang
Ok, we can change to that from
[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/nyregion/dismembered-
body...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/nyregion/dismembered-body-houston-
street-manhattan.html). Thanks.

~~~
OJFord
Maybe not a consideration, but nydailynews is not available from Europe.

~~~
neonate
[https://archive.is/ltGpQ](https://archive.is/ltGpQ)

------
neonate
[https://archive.is/lcz7t](https://archive.is/lcz7t)

~~~
programbreeding
That snap was 18 hours old and was lacking new details (like it being the co-
founder of Gokada).

Here is an updated link: [http://archive.is/7LbxX](http://archive.is/7LbxX)

------
eruci
I can't read this article because "abc7chicago.com wants to install and run
Widevine"

As to the newsworthy debate, yes, the death of a person that is of a greater
relative value to society (such as for eg a tech entrepreneur) is more
newsworthy than otherwise (such as for eg a homeless person).

~~~
dang
We've since changed the URL.
([https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23848620](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23848620))

------
RspecMAuthortah
As an immigrant founder of a small company, America no longer seems to me like
a safe environment. The entire political culture has become nothing short of
toxic, and crimes like this out in the open makes you question why would an
immigrant come to US to start a business if they can get murdered like this?
The fact that this happened in one of the safest areas in New York, makes you
wonder if city life even worth it? May be he should have owned a gun? So many
questions.

Hope his family finds some answers.

~~~
wruza
How is an immigrant status related to (presumably) business/political issues
the victim had? Do you believe that it is safe _anywhere_ when you make deals
and conflicts with people whose values do not include lives? Remember
terrorism acts in both US and EU in last two decades. I'm assuming you're
honest in your anxiety, but this rhetoric sounds just alarmist. As if some
cityname was equal to a bunker-like safety zone and not just street-crime
protecting area. What did you expect from local authorities to do to prevent
his sudden murder? Put a wall around the city and profile everyone for a week
to allow an entrance? Nobody and nothing can protect you from a random
professional hitman, neither a personal protection service nor a gun, but as a
regular person who does a legal business in a first world you're damn safe
everywhere.

------
rootsudo
I watched a documentary about this once, it really started Christian Bale's
career.

~~~
dang
Please don't do this here.

------
known
I suspect he owes money to criminals

------
grugagag
RIP Saleh Fahim.

They have a CCTV video with the murderer but unfortunately he had a mask on.
During the pandemic killers can operate with a cover, the mask, gloves, etc

Does anyone know if theres a lead to who the murderer is?

------
classified
So police don't even know the cause of death, or anything else, but they do
know they have video of the "killer"? I wish I were clairvoyant like this, but
otherwise, may I never come under investigation from those people.

~~~
filleduchaos
If you read the news coverage it's extremely clear why they think they have
video of the suspect (and it's not clairvoyance). The first few moments of the
attack were captured in surveillance footage.

~~~
joekrill
But this specific article makes no mention about it.

~~~
filleduchaos
Personally I think it common sense that an out-of-state, local paper (the
article is from ABC 7 Chicago) can hardly be taken as a primary source in a
developing crime story - hence why I said "news coverage" and gave details.

~~~
melq
Local papers are just about the best possible news source you can have. Not to
mention they are the actual primary sources that your nebulous 'news coverage'
would be relying on.

------
mc32
WTF!

That’s too damned grisly. I mean, sure maybe people snap in the heat of
passion whatnot, manslaughter —it happens but this is just depraved. I hope
they get the person and they get what they deserve. There is no chance for
such a person to redeem themselves and join society ever again. Very sad for
the victim's family. Tragic.

~~~
tempsy
It was a professional hit job given the description here...the killer was
wearing gloves, a mask, had an empty suitcase and rode the elevator with the
victim to his apartment.

The hitman was likely doing a deed for someone who paid for his service...

~~~
polycaster
Not sure why everybody is suggesting a professional hitman based on the fact
the murderer used a mask, gloves and a suitcase. I suppose you get that idea
after watching an arbitrary crime movie. All it proves is intention.

~~~
tempsy
How could it not be professional? What would it be otherwise?

The other clue is from the articles I've read is that there was no blood. No
average person with a bone saw is going to be able to pull that off. Sorry.

~~~
polycaster
> What would it be otherwise?

A guy with a plan and a regular job?

~~~
tempsy
I don’t know why you think it’s less conspiratorial to believe this was just a
regular joe vs a professional hit man. He had an electric saw and empty
suitcase. left no blood and few clues.

didn’t take anything from the apartment either.

a regular joe who wanted to do this would’ve just shot him.

~~~
chansiky
The story very much reads like a hit for sure. It sounds like he was
interrupted because the neighbor called from hearing the screams and loud
noises. I would imagine if he had another hour the body would have left the
scene in the man's suitcase and the apartment would have looked spotless.

~~~
meowface
It surely means it's highly premeditated, but doesn't necessarily mean it's a
hitman. The Stephen McDaniel case is an example of a boring-seeming law
student showing similar levels of planning when murdering and dismembering a
woman he was stalking.

The fact that there were screams loud enough to concern neighbors could
suggest it wasn't quite so professional. If it were a professional hitman, why
not use something guaranteed to instantly and silently incapacitate him,
first, then focus on cleaning up the evidence? Or did they try to, but it
didn't go as planned?

One possible explanation would be that the goal was to send a message (to him
before his death, and others after it), not to try to make him disappear
without a trace. Though, either way, it doesn't necessarily mean it was a
professional hitman.

