Los Angeles man pleads not guilty to killing wife and her parents, putting body parts in trash

LOS ANGELES — Samuel Bond Haskell IV, a 35-year-old Los Angeles resident, has pleaded not guilty to the gruesome murder of his wife and her parents, whose dismembered remains were allegedly placed in trash bags. He faces three counts of murder with the special circumstance of committing multiple murders, which could lead to a life sentence without parole if convicted.

Attempts to reach Haskell’s attorney, Joseph Weimortz, for comments were unsuccessful.

Haskell, the son of Emmy-winning producer Sam Haskell and a former executive at William Morris talent agency, lived in Tarzana, San Fernando Valley, with his wife Mei Haskell, their three young children, and her parents. He was apprehended in November, suspected of murdering Mei Haskell, 37; her mother, Yanxiang Wang, 64; and stepfather, Gaoshan Li, 72.

According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Haskell allegedly hired day laborers on Nov. 7 to remove suspicious bags from his property. The workers, who were paid $500 under the impression they were disposing of rocks, discovered they were in fact handling bags that felt soggy and soft. Upon realizing the bags contained human body parts, they returned them to Haskell’s driveway, refunded the money, and alerted the police. However, by the time the authorities arrived, the bags had disappeared.

The following day, a homeless person found a duffel bag with a human torso in a dumpster in Tarzana. The Los Angeles County coroner identified the torso as belonging to Mei Haskell, but her parents’ remains have yet to be located.

Haskell’s arrest and subsequent not guilty plea have brought this shocking case into the public eye, with the potential for a life sentence without parole if he is found guilty.