LA man charged with killing, dismembering wife and in-laws dies by suicide in jail

LOS ANGELES (CN) — A Los Angeles man who was charged with killing and dismembering his wife and parents-in-law died by suicide in jail over the weekend, days before a preliminary hearing to determine if there was sufficient evidence for him to stand trial.

Samuel Haskell Jr., 37, was found dead in his cell on Saturday, according to a statement from the LA District Attorney’s office. He would have faced life in prison without parole if found guilty.

“Instead of standing before a judge and answering for the crimes he’s been charged with, the defendant managed to escape justice,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said. “This is one last cruel act by someone who did the most horrific things for reasons we will never entirely know."

Haskell is the son of a former executive vice president and worldwide head of television for William Morris Agency, one of the most prominent Hollywood talent agencies.

He pleaded not guilty to the murder charges.

On Nov. 6, 2023, prosecutors claim Haskell murdered and dismembered his 37-year-old wife, Mei Li Haskell; her mother, Yanxiang Wang, 64; and her stepfather, Gaoshan Li, 71, in the Tarzana home they all shared.

The following day, he paid several day laborers $500 to collect several heavy, black trash bags from his home and dispose of them. When the men looked inside the bags after they had left his place, they noticed they were filled with body parts. They returned the bags to Haskell’s home, gave him back the money and called the police.

But when police officers arrived at the address for a welfare check, Haskell and the bags were gone.

However, he was captured that same afternoon on video driving into a parking lot in nearby Encino, removing a large trash bag from the trunk of his Tesla and throwing it in a dumpster.

And on the same day, he was captured on surveillance video transferring additional black plastic trash bags from his Tesla to a rented SUV.

He left the Tesla, which was registered to his wife, near an Airbnb in Tarzana, where detectives discovered Haskell had been staying with his children after the murders. The car contained blood that matched Gaoshan Li’s genetic profile.

A day later, on Nov. 8, a person looking through the dumpster in Encino found the trash bag Haskell had left there and found a beheaded torso inside. It was later identified as belonging to Mei Li Haskell.

Haskell was arrested the same day, driving the rented SUV.

Inside the SUV, police found a .357 loaded revolver, a blood-encrusted military-style knife, a headlamp and firearm sight and passports for himself, his wife and their three children. DNA analysis of blood on the knife matched all three victims, while blood stains on the firearm matched the genetic profiles of Mei Li and Gaoshan Li.

When police searched the garage and backyard of the family home, they found eight black plastic trash bags filled with bloody bedding, towels, a large machine saw, diamond-saw blades, a machete, a plywood board covered in blood, multiple pairs of disposable gloves and canes belonging to Yanxiang Wang and Gaoshan Li.

Forensic testing revealed that large amounts of blood evidence had been cleaned up throughout the home.

From his cellphone records, detectives learned that Haskell had been having an affair with a 27-year-old woman. He told her in October 2023 that his children would soon be living with his parents. Days before the murder of his wife and in-laws, Haskell asked the woman to accompany him on a trip to Japan.

He had already bought a one-way ticket to Japan for himself and had $67,000 in cash stashed at his office.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK). Visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.

Follow @edpettersson