Son of Emmy-Winning Producer Accused of Triple Family Murder Dies by Suicide in Jail Before Trial

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A California man accused of murdering his wife and her parents was found dead in his jail cell over the weekend, authorities revealed on Monday, ending a case that had stunned the Los Angeles community. The 37-year-old Samuel Haskell died by suicide just hours before he was due in court for a preliminary hearing, officials added

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman on Monday called the development ‘’a final act of cruelty.’ 

“Instead of standing before a judge and answering for the crimes he’s been charged with, the defendant managed to escape justice,” Hochman said. “This is one last cruel act by someone who did the most horrific things for reasons we will never entirely know.”

Haskell, son of Emmy-winning film producer and former Hollywood agent Sam Haskell III, had been in custody at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility since November 2023. He was facing three counts of murder for the deaths of his wife, 37-year-old Mei Li Haskell, her mother, 64-year-old Yanxiang Wang, and her stepfather, 71-year-old Gaoshan Li. Prosecutors said he was looking at life in prison without parole if convicted.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said deputies responded around 4:20 am. Pacific Standard Time on Saturday to investigate Haskell’s death at the jail. The county’s medical examiner will determine the official cause.

Horrific Discovery

The case broke open in early November 2023 when Haskell allegedly paid two day laborers $500 to remove heavy black trash bags from the Tarzana home he shared with the victims. After leaving the house, the workers checked inside the bags and were horrified to find human remains. They returned the bags and the money to Haskell, took photographs of the scene, and notified law enforcement.

When police arrived to check on the family, both Haskell and the bags had vanished. Later that day, surveillance footage showed him moving black bags from a Tesla registered to his wife into a rented SUV. At around 6 a.m. on November 8, a homeless individual searching through a dumpster in Encino found a torso believed to belong to Mei Li Haskell.

Haskell was arrested later that day while driving the SUV. Inside, officers found a loaded .357-caliber revolver, over 30 rounds of ammunition, a military-style knife stained with blood, a headlamp, a firearm sight, and passports belonging to the family. DNA tests linked the blood to all three victims.

Investigators searching the home discovered eight trash bags filled with bloody bedding, a large machine saw, a machete, and personal items belonging to Wang and Li. Though Mei Li’s remains were partially recovered, the bodies of her parents have not been found.

Authorities also learned that Haskell had been having an affair with a 27-year-old woman and had asked her to join him on a trip to Japan on November 2, just days before the murders are believed to have taken place.

At the time of his death, Haskell was being held on $2 million bail. With no trial and no chance to hear the full facts in court, the case now closes with a bitter end for those left behind.