Son of top Hollywood exec charged with murdering wife and in-laws after worker finds human body parts
Kit Roberts
Featured Image Credit: Samuel Haskell Jr/Facebook / YouTube/ABC 7 Chicago
The son of a top Hollywood exec has been charged with murder following the discovery of a dismembered torso in a dumpster.
Samuel Haskell IV has been charged with three counts of murder, which if he is convicted could lead to a life sentence in prison.
Haskell is the son of major Hollywood executive Sam Haskell III, who was formerly the executive Vice President and global head of the William Morris Agency, which has represented a lot of A-list celebrities.
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The younger Haskell, 35, directs low budget slasher films, and was arrested last week on suspicion of murder.
The arrest came after a human torso was found in a shopping mall dumpster in Encino.
Haskell lived in the Tarzana neighbourhood along with his wife Mei Li Haskell, 37, their three children, and her parents Gaoshan Li, 72, and Yanxiang Wang, 64.
The DA's office has said that Mei Li and her parents were last seen around November 6.
Prosecutors have claimed that Haskell hired four day labourers to take away heavy black plastic trash bags from his home.
The DA's office said: ”One of the laborers opened one of the bags and allegedly observed human body parts.
"They called 911 and reported the incident."
The workers returned the bags and $500 in cash to Haskell, but the bags had disappeared by the time police arrived.
Video shows Haskell throwing something into a dumpster about five miles from the family's home.
Police arrested Haskell after a woman's torso was found by someone going through the trash, who dialled 911.
It is believed that the torso may have belonged to Mei Li, but has not yet been positively identified.
On Monday Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman said: “We suspect that the torso … is the body of Mei Haskell.
“No other bags containing body parts or remains have been recovered to date but I don’t need a body to charge a murder.”
She added: "There were items of evidence in the house that indicated he dismembered the bodies."
Neighbours of the Haskells have spoken about how he was obsessed with martial arts, guns and samurai swords.
Haskell is currently in jail without bail.
He appeared in court in front of a judge in Los Angeles on Monday (November 13), and his arraignment has been pushed back to next month.