The remains of a woman, who was found in a Los Angeles dumpster in November, has been identified as the wife of the suspect accused of murdering her and her parents.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner identified the body to belong to Mei Haskell. The place of death was reported to be in a parking lot and her date of death was determined to be on November 8th, the day her torso was found inside a dumpster in Encino.
Despite not knowing for sure, police still believed the body belonged to Haskell upon finding the torso.
Samuel “Sam” Haskell IV, 35, is accused of killing his wife, 37, and her parents, Gaoshan Li, 72, and Yanxiang Wang, 64, who were last seen on Nov. 6th.
Sam, who was a director of low-budget slasher flicks, was arrested on suspicion of murder last week after a human torso was found in a bag discarded in a shopping mall dumpster.
The bodies of Li and Wang have not yet been found by authorities at this time and investigation is still open.
Authorities stated that Sam hired day laborers on November 7th to dispose of four large trash bags. One of the laborers opened a bag that contained body parts and they called 911 and reported the incident.
While the workers returned the bags and $500 in cash to Haskell, the trash bags were gone by the time police arrived.
The very next day, Haskell was later seen on video throwing something in a dumpster in Encino, about five miles from the family’s multimillion-dollar Tarzana home. He was arrested after someone going through the trash found a woman’s torso and dialed 911.
Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman said, “No other bags containing body parts or remains have been recovered to date but I don’t need a body to charge a murder. There were items of evidence in the house that indicated he dismembered the bodies.”
Haskell is the son of Sam Haskell III, the former executive vice president and global head of the William Morris Agency who represented numerous A-listers such as; George Clooney, Kathy Griffin and Whoopi Goldberg.
The Emmy-winning producer retired from the agency in 2005 and is currently listed as the president of Magnolia Hill Productions.
Together, Sam and Mei had three sons. The news came as a complete shock to the quiet neighborhood of Tarzana, where the family had lived since 2020.
A neighbor of the couple said, “Mei was always available at the drop of a hat. She was so dedicated to her kids and a lovely person.”
Another neighbor added, “Sam seemed obsessed with samurai swords, guns, and martial arts.”
The accused murderer also made several low-budget slasher movies that often featured violent fight scenes and fetishized Asian women.
Sam is due in court Jan. 12 and is currently being held without bail and is being charged with three counts of murder.