New surveillance camera footage shows a man struggling to lift a large black bag into a dumpster in California, where a woman’s dismembered torso was later discovered by a homeless man rooting through the trash.
The body, found at 6am on Wednesday morning in Encino, is yet to be identified. Police believe it to be that of 37-year-old Mei Haskell, sources told KTLA on Friday.
Her husband Sam Haskell, the 35-year-old son of a top Hollywood agent, was arrested at 11:30am on Wednesday at a mall in Topanga.
Sam Haskell has been charged with murder. Mei Haskell’s father Gaoshan Li, 72, and mother, YanXiang Wang, 64 – who lived with the couple in their $2.5 million home – are also missing.
The new footage, obtained by Fox News, shows a white SUV driving into the parking lot in Encino.
One man is seen getting out of the vehicle, opening the trunk, and lifting – with difficulty – a large bag from the trunk.
Samuel Haskell Jr, 35, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with murder
The man’s white SUV is seen parked near the dumpster in Encino, with its trunk open
The man is seen struggling to lift the heavy black object from the back of his car
Staggering under the weight of the bag, the man manages to throw it into a dumpster, before driving off. Sam Haskell was arrested on Wednesday at 11:30am at a mall
Samuel Haskell Jr., 35, and his wife Mei Haskell, 37, are pictured in photos from his Instagram. He has been arrested and charged with murder after a dismembered female torso was found, and linked to him. His wife is missing, as are her parents
Mei Haskell (left), her mother YanXiang Wang, 64, and her father Gaoshan Li, 72, are all missing
He staggers under the weight of the heavy package, but manages to throw it into the dumpster. He then drives off.
The source of the video told Fox that the police had obtained a copy, and a witness in the parking lot took a picture of the SUV’s license plate, which was also given to police.
The Haskell family had two white SUVs – a white VW Tiguan and a white 2014 Nissan Pathfinder are both missing.
The Haskells had three children, aged 6, 8 and 12 – Samuel Bond Haskell V, James Donnelly Haskell, and William Kirkpatrick Haskell II – who were found safe at school on Wednesday, and are now with family.
Haskell’s TikTok page shows him engaging in bizarre monologues, with a 2022 fascination with Brad Pitt. He also posts videos of himself at a country club in Calabasas, and at a Ralph Lauren store, as well as driving around in his car.
It’s unclear if the pouting, muscle-flexing videos were a parody or serious.
He discussed burnt steak and rambles about In one video, he talks about feeling resentful.
‘My resume says unhappy, resentful, and really good at ordering off the menu,’ he says at one point.
‘Now I’m never going to stop drinking.’
The arrest of Haskell Jr. has rocked their neighborhood in Tarzana, where the family lived in a $2.5 million, six bedroom, house.
Haskell Jr.’s father, Samuel Haskell Sr., was a high-profile agent with William Morris, whose clients included Dolly Parton, George Clooney, Whoopi Goldberg and King Charles’s brother, Prince Edward.
Police are seen searching the $2.5 million six bedroom house where the young Haskell family lived, with Mei’s parents
A birds-eye view shows Haskell’s backyard which includes a pool and a children’s play set
Haskell’s home is now the focus of an investigation as detectives work to find clues about what happened after a woman’s torso was found in a dumpster
Media was seen camped outside the Tarzana residence after news broke of the former Hollywood agent son’s arrest
The house is pictured with media on the street outside it on Thursday
He retired from William Morris in 2005, and in 2009 published a memoir entitled ‘Promises I Made My Mother’, which his publishers described as a ‘deeply personal and spiritually-enriching story about living a principled life in unprincipled times.’
In 2012, the multiple Emmy-winner founded Magnolia Hill Productions with Dolly Parton, and produces many of her television specials.
Haskell Sr. was CEO of the Miss America organization from 2015-17, but resigned after he was found to have criticized some of the contestants in private emails, ridiculing one for gaining weight and describing another as promiscuous.
Sam Haskell Sr. is pictured in September 2017 at a Miss America press conference
Haskell Sr. is seen with Dolly Parton, who he represented for many years
Haskell Sr. is pictured with Vanessa Williams, who was Miss America 1984, and became head judge in 2016
Haskell Sr. is seen with Miss America contestants in 2017
Haskell Sr. is married to Mary Donnelly Haskell, his college sweetheart
Mary Donnelly Haskell was a former Miss Mississippi
The pair have have a daughter, Mary Lane, as well as their son Sam IV
Prince Edward, the brother of King Charles, is pictured with Haskell Sr. – his agent at the time – and actor Martin Short
Haskell Sr. (center) is seen at the September 2021 Emmy Awards, winning outstanding television movie for ‘Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square’
Mary Haskell, Sam Sr.’s wife and Sam Jr.’s mother, is pictured at an Oscars events.
Haskell Sr. is married to a former Miss Mississippi, Mary Donnelly Haskell, his college sweetheart, and the pair have a daughter, Mary Lane, as well as their son Sam IV.
In his company biography, Haskell Sr. says he is ‘widely known as ‘the nice guy in Hollywood’.’
He continues: ‘Haskell is revered for rising to the top of a turbulent and often conscienceless business with his character, integrity and value-system intact.
‘His reputation for honesty, integrity, loyalty and fairness made him a consistent force in a sea of inconsistency and someone with whom actors, writers, directors and other industry professionals were eager to work.’
Haskell Jr.’s social media show him to have a taste for film and digital media, with frequent postings of camera set-ups and artistic portraits.
His wife frequently posed for his Instagram pictures, often in highly stylized, edgy photos.
Sam Haskell Jr. in Asia, in a photo posted to Instagram in August 2013
Haskell Jr. posted this photo of his wife Mei in January 2014
One neighbor told ABC 7 News that she knew Mei Haskell, but her husband seemed strange.
‘The husband – something seemed so off,’ the woman said.
‘Something seemed so weird. I thought maybe he was sick, or something was wrong. All I said was, I kept saying to my family, something is wrong with him.’
On Tuesday evening, construction workers called the police after reporting seeing a dead body in a bag on the driveway.
By the time police arrived, the body had gone.
Detective Efren Gutierrez with LAPD told NBC4 on Wednesday night: ‘When the officers responded, nothing was located.
‘There was no evidence that allowed the officers to make entry into the home.
‘The bags that were described were no longer outside.’
At 6am on Wednesday, a homeless man digging through dumpsters in Encino, five miles from Haskell Jr.’s house, found the dismembered torso in a bag in a dumpster.
The torso was found in Encino, California, early on Wednesday morning following a call to police about human remains in a black plastic bag
The bag was found stuffed into a duffel bag and tossed into a dumpster (pictured) behind Ventura Boulevard and Rubio Avenue, near a family-style restaurant, a hair salon and two banks
Haskell Jr.’s wife, Mei Haskell (pictured), and her parents Yanxiang Wang and Gaoshen Li are missing, police said. All three were living in the Tarzana home with the suspect
The bag in the dumpster was consistent with the description given by the construction workers, Gutierrez said.
Officers reviewed surveillance footage of a vehicle in the business plaza, which led them to Haskell Jr.
Police then went to the Haskell house and found blood stains and other evidence.
‘Here in the house, once officers made entry, what was discovered was evidence of a crime, including some blood evidence and other items that I’m not going to provide at this point,’ said Gutierrez.
Haskell Jr. was arrested on Wednesday morning, and charged later that day.
He remains at the Van Nuys jail on a $2 million bond, and is next in court on November 13.
The Los Angeles County coroner’s office says it is working with detectives to identify the female torso.
