> Detectives believe that the killer, dressed in a black three-piece suit, wearing a black mask and carrying a duffel bag, followed Mr. Saleh off an elevator in his building and into his apartment, a law enforcement official said. He used a Taser to immobilize Mr. Saleh and then stabbed him to death.
It appears the security of the elevator opening directly into the victim's apartment and the COVID-19 crisis (the suspect was wearing a black mask) both played a role.
Since it appears the victim and perpetrator were strongly familiar with each other, the interaction could have been as simple as the perpetrator asking to meet up and suggesting that some of the money that he had been asked to repay was in the duffel bag — unless the victim was coerced or threatened beforehand, he may not have even realized his life was at risk until after the two of them arrived at his apartment.
This is not the scenario suggested by evidence presented in the article. Might be worth a read ;)
Police allege the accused 1) disguised self [article implies video evidence suggested victim did not recognize the accused], 2) followed victim onto elevator [faked pressing button for different floor], 3) followed victim off elevator, 4) incapacitated victim using taser [which, it turns out, spews owner identifying material when fired], 5) stabbed victim to death, 6) left scene [multiple times?] to procure materials for cleaning of crime scene, 7) may have been interrupted in the cleaning of crime scene by victim's sister who, 8) called police upon discovering brother's partially dismembered corpse.
Sounds so weird. Anything short of a full mask, seems like there would be a high chance Saleh would recognize an assistant. This is someone you work with closely on a regular basis. Height, build, hair, skin complexion would still be visible under a half mask.
On the flip side, I'd be nervous as hell about being recognized if I was the assistant.
To be fair, the suspect was 21. His tenure at the victim's company cannot have been very long.
Despite the victim "knowing" the suspect as an employee, I find it easy to imagine him not recognizing his employee who had a fairly average build, in a fairly common outfit, in an elevator with people being conditioned to keep as much distance as possible. How often do you closely look at fellow elevator riders' faces? Especially these days?
That being said, with the brief tenure assumed, it's incredible that the CEO would be willing to work so flexibly with a relatively new employee who stole what amounted to up to 100K.
> I find it easy to imagine him not recognizing his employee who had a fairly average build, in a fairly common outfit, in an elevator with people being conditioned to keep as much distance as possible
I find it hard to imagine to be honest. If they tracked him down because he bought the Taser and other items, but don't have a clear ID from the CCTV and DNA, it's possible that the assistant hired someone for the dirty job and provided him with the tools?
And did the guy really think he wouldn't be recognized just bc of the mask? Obviously detectives are going to have co-workers look over surveillance videos...they'd probably be able to identify the "man in the suit" pretty quickly
An understated fact of most criminals is they are notoriously dumb. I mean, think about it, you begin stealing money, you think you can away with, then you think you can get away with invasion, murder, and disposal of the body. You really have to be dumb to even embark on this adventure.
> Detectives believe that the killer, dressed in a black three-piece suit, wearing a black mask and carrying a duffel bag, followed Mr. Saleh off an elevator in his building and into his apartment, a law enforcement official said. He used a Taser to immobilize Mr. Saleh and then stabbed him to death.
It appears the security of the elevator opening directly into the victim's apartment and the COVID-19 crisis (the suspect was wearing a black mask) both played a role.