Dismembered body found in Calif. dumpster confirmed as Hollywood exec son’s murdered wife

Haskell IV has been charged with the murder of his wife, Mei Li Haskell.Samuel Haskell Jr/Tumblr
Haskell IV was alle

New York Post

The dismembered body found in a California dumpster has been positively identified as the missing wife of Samuel Haskell IV, the Hollywood executive’s son accused of killing her and her still-missing parents.

A medical examiner on Monday listed 37-year-old mom Mei Li Haskell’s death as Nov. 8, the day a torso was found in a dumpster in Encino two days after she and her parents were last seen, CNN reported.

Her place of death was listed as a parking lot, but the cause of death remains under investigation.

Her parents, Chinese nationals Gaoshan Li, 72, and Yanxiang Wang, 64, remain missing.

Her 35-year-old husband was arrested the same day the torso was found — a day after day laborers claimed that he hired them to remove heavy trash bags that they believed contained body parts.

He was charged with three counts of murder after police said they tracked the remains to the Los Angeles home the couple shared with their kids and her parents.

Haskell IV was allegedly caught on video dumping the body in the dumpster. Police executing a second search warrant at his home found evidence of a horrible crime, they have alleged.

Haskell, the son of former William Morris Agency executive vice president Samuel Haskell III, made his first court appearance on Dec. 9.

He was bare-chested and wore an anti-suicide smock around his waist as he stood in front of a judge who ordered him to remain held without bail pending his next appearance on Jan. 12.

A court officer said the suspect’s Velcro straps came undone before his appearance, allowing it to slip down and exposing his tattooed upper body.

Mei Li Haskell’s dad Gaoshan Li and mom Yanxiang Wang have been missing since Nov. 6. AP

If convicted on all three counts of murder, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. 

Haskell IV had been represented by Beverly Hills defense attorney Bob Schwartz before switching to Joseph Weimoritz, who did not enter a plea on his behalf and requested a continuance of the hearing.