The home of a top Hollywood agent’s son was raided by police after a woman’s dismembered torso was found in a dumpster near his home.
Samuel Haskell Jr., 35, was arrested Wednesday at a Topanga mall and charged with murder.
His wife, Mei Haskell, 37, is missing and investigators are trying to determine whether the torso belongs to her.
Her parents, who lived in Tarzana with the couple and their three children, are also missing.
The police are now looking for her father Gaoshan Li, 72, and her mother YanXiang Wang, 64, as well as their missing SUV – a white VW Tiguan.
Samuel Haskell Jr., 35, and his wife Mei Haskell, 37, are pictured in photos from his Instagram. He was arrested and charged with murder after a dismembered woman’s 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
Police, along with Mei’s parents, search the $2.5 million, six-bedroom home where the Haskells lived
A bird’s eye view shows Haskell’s backyard with a pool and a children’s playset
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
On Thursday, members of the media were seen outside the Tarzana residence after it was announced that the former Hollywood agent’s son had been arrested
A white 2014 Nissan Pathfinder is also missing.
The three children, ages 6, 8 and 12 – Samuel Bond Haskell V, James Donnelly Haskell and William Kirkpatrick Haskell II – were found safe at school and are now with their family.
Haskell Jr.’s arrest rocked her Tarzana neighborhood, where the family lived in a $2.5 million, six-bedroom home.
Haskell Jr.’s father, Samuel Haskell Sr., was a high-profile agent at William Morris whose clients included Dolly Parton, George Clooney, Whoopi Goldberg and King Charles’ brother, Prince Edward.
He retired from William Morris in 2005 and published his memoirs, Promises I Made My Mother, in 2009, which his publishers described as a “deeply personal and spiritually enriching story of principled living 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 to 2017, but resigned after it was discovered that he had criticized some of the contestants in private emails, ridiculing one for gaining weight and calling another promiscuous.
A homeless man found the headless torso of a female victim in a Tarzana dumpster. The LAPD arrested Samuel Haskell in connection with the gruesome crime. Bloody evidence was found in the suspect’s home. Haskell is being held on $2 million bail.
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– Los Angeles Police Protective League (@LAPPL) November 10, 2023
Sam Haskell Sr. is pictured at a Miss America press conference in September 2017
Haskell Sr. can be seen with Dolly Parton, whom he represented for many years
Haskell Sr. is pictured with Vanessa Williams, who was Miss America in 1984 and became head judge in 2016
Haskell Sr. is seen with the 2017 Miss America contestants
Haskell Sr. is married to a former Miss Mississippi, Mary Donnelly Haskell, his college sweetheart
The couple has a daughter, Mary Lane, and their son, Sam IV
Prince Edward, King Charles’ brother, is pictured with Haskell Sr. – his agent at the time – and actor Martin Short
Haskell Sr. (center) is seen at the Emmy Awards in September 2021, winning Outstanding Television Movie for “Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square.”
Mary Haskell, wife of Sam Sr. and mother of Sam Jr., is pictured at an Academy Awards. She was a former Miss Mississippi
Haskell Sr. is married to a former Miss Mississippi, Mary Donnelly Haskell, his college sweetheart, and the couple has a daughter, Mary Lane, and their son, Sam IV.
In his company bio, Haskell Sr. says he was “widely known as ‘the nice guy in Hollywood.’
He continues: “Haskell is revered for rising to the top of a turbulent and often unconscionable company 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 contradictions and someone with whom actors, writers, directors and other industry professionals wanted to work.”
Haskell Jr.’s social media shows that he has a love for film and digital media, often posting camera angles and artistic portraits.
His wife frequently posed for his Instagram images, 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
A neighbor told ABC 7 News she knew Mei Haskell, but her husband seemed strange to her.
“The husband – something seemed wrong,” the woman said.
“Something seemed so strange. I thought maybe he was sick or something was wrong. All I said was that I kept telling my family, “There’s something wrong with him.”
On Tuesday evening, construction workers called police after reporting seeing a body in a bag in the driveway.
When the police arrived, the body was gone.
Detective Efren Gutierrez of the LAPD told NBC4 Wednesday evening, “When officers responded, nothing was found.”
“There was no evidence that would have allowed officers to enter the home.
“The bags described were no longer outside.”
At 6 a.m. Wednesday, a homeless man rummaging through dumpsters in Encino, five miles from Haskell Jr.’s home, found the dismembered torso in a bag in a dumpster.
The torso was found early Wednesday morning in Encino, California, after a call to police about human remains in a black plastic bag
The bag was stuffed into a duffel bag and thrown into a dumpster (pictured) behind Ventura Boulevard and Rubio Avenue, near a family 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 lived with the suspect in Tarzana’s house
The bag in the dumpster matched the construction workers’ description, Gutierrez said.
Officers reviewed surveillance footage from a vehicle on the plaza and led it to Haskell Jr.
Police then went to the Haskell house and found bloodstains and other evidence.
“Once officers gained entry into the home, evidence of a crime was discovered, including some traces of blood and other items that I will not disclose at this point,” Gutierrez said.
Haskell Jr. was arrested Wednesday morning and arraigned later that day.
He remains in the Van Nuys Jail on a $2 million bond and is next due in court on Nov. 13.
The Los Angeles County coroner’s office said it is working with detectives to identify the female torso.