A 35-year-old Tarzana man remained jailed Thursday in connection with the death of a woman whose dismembered remains were found in an Encino trash bin, and officials were investigating if he may have been involved with the disappearance of multiple relatives.
Samuel Haskell was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of murder at the Westfield Topanga mall by Los Angeles Police Department officers following a search of his home in the 4100 block of Coldstream Terrace. Police said the search was prompted by surveillance video evidence from Encino, where a homeless man searching for recyclables found a dismembered body in a plastic bag around 6:15 a.m. Wednesday near a trash bin at Ventura Boulevard and Rubio Way.
The woman whose dismembered remains were found has not yet been identified, although authorities said they suspect the victim is Haskell’s wife, Mei. Police said Haskell’s wife and his in-laws — Gaoshan Li, 72, and YanXiang Wang, 64 — have all been reported missing. All of them lived together with Haskell at the Coldstream Terrace address, police said.
It was unclear how long the remains may have been in the Encino trash bin, or how long ago the victim may have died, although police suggested the killing may have occurred in the past few days.
Haskell was being held in lieu of $2 million bail, according to jail records.
Anyone with information on the case was urged to call 877-LAPD-247.