Suspect in California Chinese woman dismemberment case commits suicide in prison
On July 14, Samuel Bond Haskell, a California man who was accused of brutally killing his Chinese wife and parents-in-law, committed suicide in prison last Saturday, ending the dismemberment case that shocked the entire United States. The case was originally scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Monday.
Haskell, 37, was arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife Mei Li, mother-in-law Yanxiang Wang, and father-in-law Gaoshan Li in November 2023, but he pleaded not guilty to all three counts of murder and has been held without bail to this day.
According to his lawyer, Haskell left a suicide note in his cell, claiming that he was “not afraid of prison life”, but worried that the media attention brought by the case would have a long-term impact on his three young children. He had planned to give up his pretrial rights to reduce exposure, and finally chose to “end this chaos” by suicide.
The case occurred in Tarzana, Los Angeles County. The three victims lived with Haskell’s family of five at the residence where the crime occurred. Police records show that Li Mei and her parents were last seen on November 6, 2023. The next day, Haskell hired four temporary workers to carry “unusually heavy” black plastic bags. One of them opened the bag and found the remains and called the police.
The police went to the door that night, but found no suspicious signs. Until November 8, a homeless man found a female torso in a shopping mall trash can in Encino. DNA identification confirmed that it was Li Mei, and Haskell was immediately arrested.
Although the bodies of Li Mei’s parents have not been found so far, the police said that the large amount of blood and forensic evidence extracted from the crime house are sufficient to confirm that all three were killed.
Haskell was born into a famous Hollywood family. His father is Sam Haskell, a well-known agent and producer who has represented stars such as Dolly Parton and George Clooney. Therefore, the case has been closely followed by the media.
The attorney said the Haskell family is “deeply saddened” by the loss of three lives, and the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office is currently confirming the official cause of death.
