Police say a homeless person discovered a female torso near this dumpster. Officers tracked down Sam Haskell as the suspected murderer. (Screenshot: KNBC)
The discovery of an unidentified female torso sparked an investigation leading to a man's arrest and the search for three missing relatives.
Sam Haskell, 35, was arrested Wednesday for murder, according to KNBC. Meanwhile, cops are looking for his wife, Mei Haskell, and her parents, Yanxiang Wang, 64, and Gaoshan Li, 72.
The investigation started when a homeless person searching for recyclables discovered a dismembered female torso in a plastic bag near a strip mall dumpster in the Encino neighborhood, LA cops said in a KABC report. This was at about 6:15 a.m. on Wednesday.
Business plaza surveillance footage led cops to Haskell, said police, who did not elaborate much.
BREAKING: Mei Haskell and her parents are missing and feared dead. Mei's husband Samuel Haskell has been booked on suspicion of murder, per LAPD. @KTLA pic.twitter.com/R9kGhBshQG
— Carlos Saucedo (@Carlos_Saucedo) November 9, 2023
They have been searching his home as a second crime scene, according to KTLA.
Both couples lived with Haskell's three young children at the same home in the Tarzana neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
Officers reportedly found the kids safe in school. The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services took custody of them.
The night before the discovery, someone had claimed to have seen a body in a plastic bag near the couple's home, but cops could not substantiate it, according to KABC.
Wang is described as standing 5 feet, 4 inches and weighing about 135. Li is 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs about 140 pounds.
