Los Angeles Man Charged with Murder After Allegedly Killing His Wife and In-Laws, Prosecutors Announce

In a shocking and gruesome turn of events, Samuel Haskell, a 35-year-old man from Los Angeles, has been charged with murder for allegedly killing his wife and her parents. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced on Monday that Haskell is facing three counts of murder, with special circumstances of committing multiple murders. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The horrific crime came to light last week when a human torso was discovered in a trash bag in a dumpster. Police traced the gruesome finding back to Haskell, leading to his subsequent arrest. Haskell and his wife, Mei Li Haskell, along with her parents, Gaoshan Li and Yanxiang Wang, were last seen around November 7th.

According to authorities, Haskell had hired four day laborers to remove several heavy black plastic trash bags from his home in the Tarzana neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley. One of the laborers opened one of the bags and was horrified to find human body parts inside. Acting quickly, they immediately called 911 to report the incident.

However, when police arrived at the scene, the bags and the laborers were nowhere to be found. It is suspected that Haskell had somehow managed to retrieve the bags and the money he had paid to the laborers.

Further evidence against Haskell emerged when surveillance footage captured him disposing of something in a dumpster in the nearby Encino area on the same day. It was the following day that someone rummaging through the trash made a chilling discovery - a woman's torso, wrapped in a trash bag. The authorities believe that the torso belongs to Mei Haskell, although the official identification is yet to be confirmed by the Los Angeles County medical examiner's department.

Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman stated on Monday that despite the absence of a complete body, there is enough evidence to charge Haskell with murder. "There were items of evidence in the house that indicated he dismembered the bodies," Silverman added.

The motive behind this brutal crime remains unclear, leaving friends and neighbors in shock and disbelief. The Haskell family lived in Tarzana with their three young children and Mei Li's parents. The victims' extended family and the community are now grappling with the profound loss and the unimaginable horror that has unfolded in their midst.

Haskell made his first court appearance on Monday, where his arraignment was postponed. He was ordered to be held without bail. Joseph Gutierrez, Haskell's attorney, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The case continues to develop, and investigators are working meticulously to gather every piece of evidence in this horrifying crime.