Hollywood Agent’s Son Accused of Killing Wife, in-Laws Collected Weapons and Was 'Socially Awkward': Neighbor
Samuel Haskell IV is charged with three counts of murder after a torso was found in a dumpster
Samuel Haskell/TikTok; Los Angeles Police Department via AP
Samuel Haskell and Mei Li HaskellA son of a former Hollywood producer and agent is facing three counts of murder, with authorities alleging that he killed his wife and in-laws after a human torso was found in a dumpster.
Samuel "Sam" Haskell IV, 35, is due to be arraigned in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, and is accused of killing his wife, Mei Li Haskell, 37, and her parents, Gaoshan Li, 72, and Yanxiang Wang, 64, who were last seen Nov. 6, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office said.
Authorities allege that Sam hired day laborers on Nov. 7 to dispose of four large trash bags. One of the laborers opened a bag that contained body parts, authorities claim. The next day, the district attorney’s office says, Sam was allegedly observed disposing of another trash bag that was later found to have a human torso in it.
The torso has not yet been identified, but police believe it is Mei's.
The allegations against Sam come as a shock to the quiet neighborhood of Tarzana, where the Haskells lived with their three sons, who are now being cared for by a family member.
Elle Benami, who has lived next door to the Haskells since they moved in in 2020, tells PEOPLE that she never really had an actual conversation with Sam, though she became fast friends with the much more outgoing Mei.
“I knew him to be not social, maybe kind of socially awkward,” Benami says of her neighbor, who is now charged with murder.
“I wouldn't say that he struck me as creepy,” Benami adds. “When I say the socially awkward part, he was just very quiet, kind of pensive, always seemed to be deep in thought about something.”
Benami also says that during dinners or parties that Mei frequently hosted, Sam would often just sit off to the side and not talk to anyone.
Though she never would have expected Sam to do anything violent, Benami says her neighbor collected weapons, like samurai swords and crossbows, and kept them upstairs. Because of this, Benami was never comfortable with her children playing upstairs in the Haskell home, only on the ground floor with Mei or in the yard.
“I know Mei mentioned it to me a few times because she was really not happy about it,” Benami says about the weapons. “The boys kind of bragged sort of to my kids about it. I just knew that they had them, and to me, that was a bit concerning.”
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Though he may have been quiet around neighbors, Sam has had a fairly active social media presence over the past few years, with profiles on TikTok, LinkedIn and Instagram, under the names Samuel Basshinger and tragcistreetz.
According to his LinkedIn, Sam describes himself as a director of music videos and fashion editorials, having apparently graduated from California State University, Northridge in 2011. His profile bio also says he created a “pop-culture/fashion photo blog” on Instagram under the name tragicstreetz.
Sam was perhaps most active on TikTok, where from 2022 to early 2023, he posted dozens of short videos, many of which featured him in his car talking about celebrities like Bradley Cooper and Brad Pitt, or speaking in modern slang and making observations on things like tech entrepreneurs to LinkedIn.
His TikTok bio reads, “This is my comedy workshop.” His last post on that account was in March.
Sam is the son of Sam Haskell, a former Hollywood agent, who once represented stars like George Clooney, Kathy Griffin and Whoopi Goldberg. He was also the CEO of Miss America before resigning in 2017 following an email scandal, NBC reported.
The elder Haskell has also produced multiple Dolly Parton TV specials, according to his IMDb page.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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