Sam Haskell IV, the son of a prominent Hollywood agent, appeared in court Thursday to face a Los Angeles judge who will decide if he will stand trial for the alleged murders and dismemberment of his wife and the murders of her parents.
Haskell, 36, has been on suicide watch at LA’s Twin Towers jail since his arrest eight months ago. He was led into LA Superior Court shackled and bare-chested, as he did in previous court appearances.
According to DailyMail, none of Haskell’s friends or family were in the courtroom.
A date was expected to be scheduled for a preliminary hearing where LA’s District Attorney will present evidence and testimony, and Judge Lench will decide if Haskell will be tried by a jury.
However, after consulting in chambers with prosecutors, Judge Lench postponed setting the preliminary hearing date by 90 days to October 15.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, prosecutors charged Haskell with murder after allegedly linking him to body parts found near a Los Angeles-area dumpster believed to belong to his wife, 37-year-old Mei Haskell.
her parents, Yanxiang Wang, 64, and Gaoshan Li, 72, who were last seen on November 6, 2023. The family lived in Tarzana with Samuel and Mei’s three young children.
Video obtained by TMZ shows that at 3:54 p.m, a man wearing a white shirt, who appears to be Samuel Haskell, flagged down a blue truck in front of his home in Tarzana.
Several minutes later, several men can be seen in the video carrying what looked like large garbage bags down the driveway and loading the bags into a truck.
The laborers left the residence, but they did not go far. Suspecting something was amiss, the laborers opened at least one of the bags and found human body parts, including what appeared to be a belly button.
At 4:15 p.m., surveillance footage shows the laborers return to Haskell’s house and return the bags. The men told NBC4 they gave Haskell his money back. Haskell can be seen leaving the property at 4:22 p.m. in a white Tesla.
The laborers told NBC4 they went directly to police what had just happened. Officers were sent to the home on Tuesday but did not see anything that would have allowed them to enter the house.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Listen to the latest episode:
[Feature Photo: Sam Haskell IV/KNBC]
