New York—A New York City jewelry store employee who choked his boss to death using zip ties and then fled the country, evading capture for eight years, could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Michel Patrick DeSalles, 56, was sentenced to 20 years to life in state prison after pleading guilty to the 2017 murder of Omid Gholian, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. announced last week.
According to the DA’s office, DeSalles worked for 51-year-old Gholian at his jewelry store, World of Gold N Diamond, in the city’s Tribeca neighborhood.
On the morning of Feb. 14, 2017, he attacked him, tying two zip ties tightly around his neck.
About three hours later, DeSalles bought a planet ticket to his native Mauritius, and flew home out of John F. Kennedy International Airport that same evening.
The victim’s family members and police went to the store on Feb. 15 and found Gholian dead in the back of the store with the zip ties around his neck, a bruised eye, and gashes on his head, the DA’s office said.
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New York Supreme Criminal Court records show that a grand jury indicted DeSalles for Gholian’s murder in March 2019.
An arrest warrant was issued and prosecutors “doggedly” sought DeSalles’ return, Bragg said, but he was not extradited to the United States until May 2025 and initially pleaded not guilty.
In June 2026, DeSalles pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder in New York State Supreme Court. He was sentenced on Aug. 5.
“The defendant went to great lengths to avoid accountability for this brutal murder,” Bragg said.
“His actions have caused Mr. Gholian’s family and loved ones lasting emotional damage, and I join with them in mourning their loss.”