Son of Hollywood exec arrested on suspicion of murder, LAPD says

The son of a Hollywood executive was arrested in Los Angeles on Wednesday on suspicion of murder after a woman’s dismembered torso was found in a dumpster, officials said. Samuel Bond Haskell IV, 35, was detained after the grisly discovery, a news release from the Los Angeles Police Department said.

The dismembered body part may belong to Haskell’s wife, Mei Haskell, who is missing, LA police Capt. Scot Williams of the robbery-homicide division told the Los Angeles Times. The department is working to confirm the identity of the torso. Haskell’s in-laws, 71-year-old Gaoshan Li and 64-year-old Yanxiang Wang, have also not been found, the police said. 

The torso was reportedly discovered by an individual digging through a dumpster in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Encino, near Ventura Boulevard and Rubio Avenue. Officers and detectives rushed to the scene and launched an investigation that led them to Haskell’s home on the 4100 block of Coldstream Terrace in Tarzana, about 5 miles from the location of the dumpster, LAPD said. Haskell was reportedly taken into custody at the Westfield Topanga mall in nearby Canoga Park.

Haskell lived with his wife, in-laws and children at the home. The children were later located.

Before the body part was discovered, police received a call Tuesday night regarding “what seemed like body parts in bags outside Haskell’s Tarzana home,” the Los Angeles Times reported. Police rushed to the scene, but found nothing by the time they arrived.

“If a murder suspect is dismembering a body, it’s to delay identification,” LAPD homicide detective Efren Guttierez told KTLA.

Haskell is the son of Sam Haskell III, a former executive at Hollywood-based talent agency William Morris. His clients included big-name stars like Kirstie Alley, George Clooney,  Dolly Parton, Ray Romano, Martin Short and Lily Tomlin, according to a biography posted online. The suspect’s mother is Mary Donnelly Haskell, a former Miss Mississippi.

Haskell is being held on $2 million bail, the police said. LAPD did not respond to a request for additional comment.