Latest news with #MeiLiHaskell
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
X-Men star speaks out over horrific murder of friend
Actor Shawn Ashmore and his wife Dana are paying memorial to their late friend Mei Li Haskell, after the man suspected of murdering her and her parents took his own life. 'Our hearts are heavy, but we feel some small sense of peace knowing there is finally a bit of closure,' Ashmore, 45, and his wife, 42, said of following the suicide of suspect Sam Haskell IV. Ashmore and his spouse continued: 'We are mourning the loss of an extraordinary mother, someone who poured her entire heart into her three boys and never stopped putting them first.' The Canadian actor and his spouse issued a public statement after officials with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office confirmed Haskell's death in custody via suicide. The duo had not been permitted to open up about the case publicly due to ongoing litigation in the matter, TMZ reported Tuesday, as they had worked with officials on behalf of their late friend Mei Li. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a news release Monday that officials found Haskell's lifeless body in his assigned cell at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility early Saturday. Authorities have not yet announced a specific cause of death for Haskell. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said of the suspect's death: 'Instead of standing before a judge and answering for the crimes he's been charged with, the defendant managed to escape justice. 'This is one last cruel act by someone who did the most horrific things for reasons we will never entirely know.' Hochman said that Haskell's suicide prior to facing justice deprived the relatives of his victims potentially cathartic experiences in letting him know how much damage he caused. 'A family that has been dealing with unimaginable loss now has been robbed of their chance to face him, hold him accountable for his barbaric actions and openly share their grief and their cherished memories of their loved ones, Hochman said.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE He was the Hollywood nepo baby who had everything. But he hid a dark secret that turned him into a killer
Sam Haskell seemed to have it all and was no stranger to the Hollywood limelight. The aspiring filmmaker lived in a $2.6 million home in the quiet Los Angeles suburb of Tarzana with his wife, Mei Li Haskell, and their three young sons.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Man accused of murdering and dismembering wife, in-laws found dead in cell
A California man accused of "barbarically" killing and dismembering his wife and her parents died by suicide while in custody on murder charges, prosecutors said Monday. Samuel Haskell Jr., 37, was found dead in his cell on Saturday -- two days before he was scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing after being charged with three counts of murder -- according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. His death was reported at approximately 4:20 a.m. at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles, authorities said. The incident remains under investigation, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. MORE: Man arrested in connection with dismembered torso found near dumpster: Police Haskell, the son of a once-prominent Hollywood agent, is accused of murdering and dismembering his wife and his in-laws in the Tarzana home they shared in November 2023, prosecutors said. The beheaded torso of his wife -- Mei Li Haskell, 37 -- was found in a trash bag by a person looking through a dumpster in Encino on Nov. 8, 2023, prosecutors said. The couple had three children, who are now living with a relative, prosecutors said. The remains of his wife's mother -- Yanxiang Wang, 64 -- and stepfather -- Gaoshan Li, 71 -- have not been found, prosecutors said. The district attorney's office said prosecutors planned to present evidence at Monday's preliminary hearing showing that Haskell "brutally" killed the three victims and, before his arrest, planned to travel to Japan accompanied by a woman with whom he had been having an affair. The motive is not fully known, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney Hochman. "The full motive for an individual to so violently and barbarically kill three people and chop up their bodies -- Mr. Haskell has taken that motive to the grave with him," Hochman told ABC Los Angeles station KABC. MORE: New book on University of Idaho murders sheds light on Bryan Kohberger's potential motive According to prosecutors, Haskell hired several day laborers to remove heavy black plastic trash bags from his home on Nov. 7, 2023, the day before the gruesome discovery of his wife's remains. "After driving away from the home, the workers opened one of the bags and saw human body parts. The workers returned the bags and money to Haskell, took pictures of the defendant, the bags and the front of the residence, then alerted police," the district attorney's office said in a press release. "When police responded to the home to conduct a welfare check, no one was there and the bags were gone." Video showed Haskell disposing of a large trash bag from the trunk of his Tesla into the Encino dumpster later that day, according to prosecutors. When Haskell was arrested on Nov. 7, 2023, a Home Depot receipt for "plywood, canopy, moisture barrier, coveralls and diamond-saw blades" purchased the previous month was found in his wallet, prosecutors said. Inside an SUV he had rented earlier that month, police found "a .357 loaded revolver inside a holster, 32 rounds of live ammunition, a blood-encrusted military-style knife, a headlamp and firearm sight and passports for himself, his wife Mei and their three children," the district attorney's office said. Blood on the knife was matched to all three victims, prosecutors said. Bloody bedding, a large machine saw, diamond-saw blades, a machete and canes belonging to Wang and Li were also among the items recovered from the garage and backyard of the family home. The residence had been cleaned of "large amounts of blood evidence," and the victims' blood was found on some of the items, prosecutors said. Additional cellphone evidence showed that Haskell had been having an affair with a 27-year-old woman, who was interviewed by law enforcement, prosecutors said. A month before the murders, he told the woman that his children "would soon be living with his parents," the district attorney's office said. He had purchased a one-way ticket to Japan and a round-trip ticket for the woman in October 2023, prosecutors said. Haskell had pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder as well as the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders. He faced life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted. "Instead of standing before a judge and answering for the crimes he's been charged with, the defendant managed to escape justice," Hochman said in a statement. "A family that has been dealing with unimaginable loss now has been robbed of their chance to face him, hold him accountable for his barbaric actions, and openly share their grief and their cherished memories of their loved ones."
News.com.au
3 days ago
- News.com.au
Top Hollywood exec's son who killed, dismembered wife and her parents dies by suicide
The son of a top Hollywood exec who killed and dismembered his wife and her parents committed suicide in jail just days before a court hearing, according to reports. Samuel Bond Haskell IV's death was announced hours before he was due to appear in court Monday for a preliminary hearing in his murder case, said Lt. Michael Modica of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to KABC. The suspected killer, 37, appeared to have committed suicide in his cell, with his body discovered Saturday morning, law enforcement sources told NBCLA. Haskell's father is an Emmy-winning producer and Hollywood agent, serving high-profile clients including George Clooney, Whoopi Goldberg, Dolly Parton and Kathie Lee Gifford. In 2023, Haskell was accused of murdering his wife, Mei Li Haskell, 37, and her parents, Gaoshan Li, 72, and 64-year-old Yanxiang Wang, at their home in the Los Angeles suburb of Tarzana. He tossed their dismembered body parts in an Encino trash bin, where his wife's remains were later discovered, cops said. The remains of Haskell's in-laws have never been recovered and his death has deprived their loved ones of discovering the truth about what happened. All three family members were last seen alive on November 6, 2023. The next day, Haskell allegedly hired four day labourers to remove several heavy black plastic trash bags from his home, the Los Angeles Police Department said at the time. 'One of the labourers opened one of the bags and allegedly observed human body parts,' the LAPD statement read. 'They called 911 and reported the incident.' The labourers returned the bags and the money and left, but by the time cops arrived, the bundles were gone, authorities said. Haskell was also caught on video dumping something in a dumpster in Encino on November 7, authorities said. After a woman's torso was discovered by someone rummaging through the trash there November 8, police were called and Haskell was arrested, prosecutors said. Haskell had pleaded not guilty to the charges and was being held with no bail while awaiting trial. 'Instead of standing before a judge and answering for the crimes he's been charged with, the defendant managed to escape justice, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J Hochman said in a statement on Monday. 'This is one last cruel act by someone who did the most horrific things for reasons we will never entirely know. 'A family that has been dealing with unimaginable loss now has been robbed of their chance to face him, hold him accountable for his barbaric actions, and openly share their grief and their cherished memories of their loved ones,' he said.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sam Haskell Jr. Dies By Suicide While Awaiting Hearing On Murder Charges
Sam Haskell Jr., the son of a prominent television producer, died by suicide just days before his preliminary hearing to determine whether he should stand trial for allegedly dismembering his wife and killing her parents, according to TMZ. Haskell was in prison at the time of his death. Last year, he pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder in a Los Angeles court. He was accused in the 2023 murders of his wife Mei Li Haskell and her parents, Gaoshan Li and Yanxiang Wang. He allegedly dismembered their bodies, placed them in garbage bags, and hired day laborers to take the bags to a dump site. More from Deadline TV Producer's Son Sam Haskell Jr. Pleads Not Guilty To Triple Murder Charges 2025 Deaths Photo Gallery: Hollywood & Media Obituaries Liza Minnelli's Upcoming Memoir Optioned For TV Adaptation; Magnolia Hill & Warner Bros. To Produce Haskell's father was Sam Haskell Sr., founder and president of Magnolia Hill Productions, which produced various TV specials starring Dolly Parton and others featuring The Waltons. Before that, Haskell Sr. spent time at William Morris, where he rose to Worldwide Head of Television before retiring. During his time at the agency he repped numerous stars, including George Clooney, Dolly Parton and Whoopi of Deadline 'The Buccaneers' Season 2 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out? 'The Buccaneers' Season 2 Soundtrack: From Griff To Sabrina Carpenter 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery
