A fugitive suspected of choking his boss to death with zip ties inside a Tribeca jewelry store more than eight years ago has been extradited back to New York City and charged with the heinous cold case murder, prosecutors announced.
Michel Patrick Desalles, now 54 years old, is accused of murdering Omid Gholian, 43, inside World of Gold N Diamond at Church and Duane streets on February 14, 2017. Desalles allegedly quickly booked a flight to his native Mauritius to evade law enforcement after the crime.
Desalles managed to hide out in Mauritius, an island country in the Indian Ocean, until Friday when officials from various agencies caught up to him. He was then brought back to New York to face justice.
Desalles has been charged with second-degree murder and has been ordered to be held without bail by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. The attack involved Desalles allegedly beating his boss and tightly tying two zip ties around his neck, resulting in his death.
The deadly assault took place in the morning, and by the evening, Desalles had already boarded a flight from JFK International Airport to Mauritius, according to prosecutors. Meanwhile, Gholian’s family had not heard from him for a few days, leading his brother to file a missing-person report with the 1st Precinct.
When Gholian’s brother went to the store to look for him, he found the gate locked. With the help of the police, they gained entry into the store and discovered Gholian lying lifeless in a pool of blood in the back, with zip ties around his neck. Gholian, who resided in Marine Park, Brooklyn, had suffered bruising on his eye and a head gash. He was pronounced dead at the scene by responding EMTs.
The city medical examiner’s office confirmed that Gholian’s death was a homicide caused by the compression of the neck. Fred Laleh, the owner of a neighboring shop called Korner Jewelry, recalled noticing something was amiss when Gholian’s store remained closed on Valentine’s Day, the busiest day of the year for jewelry shops.
Laleh mentioned speaking to one of Gholian’s employees who said Gholian had sent him on an errand uptown in the Diamond District. However, Gholian later called the employee, instructing him not to return to the store, leaving everyone puzzled about the sudden turn of events.
Desalles is set to reappear in court on August 11 to face the charges against him. The US Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the US Embassy in Port Louis, the US Marshals Service, the Office of the Attorney General of Mauritius, and the Mauritian Police Force collaborated to arrest and extradite Desalles back to New York City.
