Los Angeles man pleads not guilty to killing wife and her parents, putting body parts in trash

LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles man accused of killing his wife and her parents and then stuffing their dismembered body parts into garbage bags pleaded not guilty to murder on Friday.

Samuel Bond Haskell IV, 35, entered pleas to three counts of murder with special circumstances of committing multiple murders. If convicted, he faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.

An email seeking comment from his attorney, Joseph Weimortz, was not immediately returned.

Haskell is the son of Emmy-winning producer Sam Haskell, a former executive at the powerful talent agency William Morris.

The younger Haskell lived in the Tarzana neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley with his wife, their three young children and her parents.

He was arrested in November on suspicion of killing Mei Haskell, 37; her mother, Yanxiang Wang, 64; and stepfather, Gaoshan Li, 72.

Prosecutors say Haskell hired four day laborers on Nov. 7 to remove bags from his property. The workers said they were paid $500 and told they were removing rocks even though the bags felt soggy and soft.

“One of the workers opened one of the bags and reportedly observed human body parts,” the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a November statement.

The workers said they drove back to Haskell’s home, left the bags in the driveway and returned the money. They contacted police, but by the time officers arrived, the bags were gone, according to a KNBC-TV Channel 4 report.

The next day, a homeless man found a duffel bag containing a human torso in a Tarzana container. Haskell was arrested a short time later.

The Los Angeles County coroner determined the torso belonged to Mei Haskell. Her parents’ remains have not yet been found.

If convicted, Haskell could be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.