New details were released Friday in the case of a missing family and a woman’s torso that was found in an Encino dumpster on Nov. 8.
The remains are believed to be Mei Haskell, 37, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Mei’s husband, Samuel Bond Haskell IV, 35, is suspected of killing her. He was arrested at the Topanga Mall on Nov. 8 and charged with one count of murder.
Samuel is the son of Samuel Haskell III, who was a high-profile agent with Hollywood’s William Morris talent agency.
He lived in a six-bedroom Tarzana home on the 4100 block of Coldstream Terrace with his wife, their three young sons and Mei’s parents — Gaoshan Li, 72, and YanXiang Wang, 64.
Mei, along with her parents, are all missing, authorities said.
A man scavenging for recyclables discovered the woman’s torso in a parking lot near Ventura Boulevard and Rubio Avenue in Encino. The torso was found inside a black bag that had been placed in a duffel bag and tossed in the dumpster.
Police first learned of allegations against Samuel on Tuesday night, when landscapers “reported seeing what seemed like body parts in bags outside Haskell’s Tarzana home,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
The bags were gone by the time police arrived, though investigators returned after the torso was found and “discovered blood and other evidence consistent with a killing and dismemberment” inside the home.
New details were also released on Samuel, who remains the prime suspect in the case.
A video Samuel posted to his TikTok account shows him rambling about a variety of things, from burnt steak to feeling bitter and resentful.
“Now I’m consistently never going to stop drinking,” he’s heard saying in one video.
The son of a former high-powered Hollywood talent agent whose clients included Dolly Parton, George Clooney and Whoopi Goldberg, is now at the center of a murder mystery.
The Haskells’ next-door neighbor, Elle Benami, told KTLA she last saw Mei about a week ago in the morning as she was driving her kids to school.
Days later, a homeless man rummaging through a dumpster just a few miles from the Haskell home, found a female torso, stuffed into a duffel bag.
Investigators believe the body part belongs to Mei and said surveillance footage from the dumpster location led them to her husband.
Samuel was arrested on suspicion of murder and the search for more human remains — as well as the whereabouts of his in-laws — continues.
“She was dedicated to her boys,” Benami said. “They were definitely her entire life.”
Benami was a close friend of Mei’s and is distraught over her disappearance.
“Outwardly, they didn’t seem to be very warm with each other or affectionate or have some great marriage but I did not know of there being any issues,” Benami said. “But they’re very different in the sense that she was very outgoing, very social and he’s not. He’s more reserved, quiet.”
A woman who teaches violin to one of Samuel and Mei’s children went to the home on Saturday morning but was unaware of what happened until KTLA 5’s Carlos Herrera broke the news.
“I don’t even know what to say because they were such a nice family,” she said. “I’ve been here every week for almost a year.”
She said that she last saw the whole family on Nov. 4 and that everything seemed “normal” when she taught their son violin.
According to reports, Samuel worked as a successful director and producer before his arrest on suspicion of murder. He is currently being held without bail.
Police are also looking for two missing SUVs — a white Volkswagen Tiguan with a California license plate 9ANC890 and a white Nissan Pathfinder with a California license plate 7FRM190.
Mei’s parents were last seen in one of the SUVs, police said.
Police believe the victim was killed sometime within the past few days. Investigators are still soliciting tips and hoping surveillance video will shed more light on the case.
The couple’s three young sons were removed from their respective schools following the gruesome discovery and are staying with relatives.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the LAPD at 1 877-275-5273.