Hollywood exec Sam Haskell’s son Samuel arrives shirtless in court charged with killing wife and in-laws
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFONIA: Samuel Haskell, son of former Hollywood agent Sam Haskell, arrested in the brutal killing of his wife and her parents, appeared shirtless in court on Friday, December 8.
The 35-year-old Haskell was apprehended at a Topanga mall and is suspected of murdering his wife Mei Li Haskell and her parents, who were last seen on November 6, according to California District Attorney’s office.
Haskell was taken into custody on Wednesday, November 8, after a dismembered torso of a woman was discovered in a dumpster in Los Angeles, as per nypost.
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) reported that a homeless person found the victim's body parts in a parking lot near Ventura Boulevard and Rubio Avenue on the morning of November 8, as per NBC Los Angeles.
Samuel Haskell appears shirtless in court
Haskell made his first public appearance since his arrest, shirtless, in court on Friday morning. He stood bare-chested, with an anti-suicide smock around his waist, holding a bag with a small milk carton.
A court deputy explained that the Velcro straps on the accused murderer's attire came undone before his court appearance, causing it to slip down and expose his tattooed upper body.
Haskell was told that he would continue to be held without bail and his arraignment was postponed to January 12, 2024. The delay in the arraignment coincides with the California man's last-minute decision to switch his defense team.
His new attorney, Joseph Weimoritz, refrained from entering a plea on Haskell's behalf and requested a continuance of the hearing, standing separated from his client by a glass partition. The reason for this change remains unclear.
In a prior court appearance in mid-November, his arraignment was also postponed, and he was ordered to be held without bail.
What happened on November 7?
The accused perpetrator, Haskell resided in the Tarzana neighborhood alongside his wife, Mei Li Haskell, 37, and their three young children, in addition to her parents, Gaoshan Li, 72, and Yanxiang Wang, 64.
According to People, Samuel's father, Sam Haskell, once represented stars like George Clooney, Kathy Griffin and Whoopi Goldberg.
On November 7, Haskell purportedly enlisted four-day laborers to remove several hefty plastic trash bags from their six-bedroom Tarzana home, suspected to contain body parts.
Despite allegedly informing the workers that the 50-pound bags held rocks, the laborers became suspicious and halted their truck a block away. Upon inspection, they reportedly made a disturbing discovery.
The day laborers returned the bags and money after Haskell allegedly explained they were Halloween props, as revealed in an interview with KNBC.
Unfortunately, these bags disappeared before authorities could examine them. When police visited Haskell's home in response to the day laborers' report, they found no evidence and left.
However, the next day, a dismembered torso, believed to belong to his wife Mei Li, was discovered in a dumpster miles away, by a homeless man.
Haskell was allegedly captured on video dumping the apparent body in the dumpster, leading to his arrest at a nearby shopping mall on November 8.
Upon executing a search warrant during a second visit to his home, authorities claimed to have found evidence of a heinous crime, including blood evidence and other undisclosed items, according to LAPD Detective Efren Gutierrez.
Haskell was subsequently charged with the murders of his wife and in-laws. The remains of Wang and Li, Chinese nationals who lived with the couple and their grandchildren, remain undiscovered. The children are presently under the care of relatives.
If Haskell is convicted on all three counts of murder, he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.
