Hollywood fake baby Sam Haskell allegedly sent text messages to his ex-personal trainer saying he couldn’t bear to watch a horror movie because of the dismembered bodies – months before he was accused of murdering his wife and her parents.
Haskell, 35, son of a Hollywood hotshot of the same name, has been charged with three counts of murder in connection with the disappearance of his wife Mei Haskell, 37, her mother, Yanxiang Wang, 64, and her father, Gaoshan Li, 72.
The decapitated body of one woman was discovered this month in a dumpster near his office in Encino, California, while the others remain missing. His arraignment was postponed until December 8. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
Unearthed texts from May show that he apparently could not tolerate the blood from the horror film The Forever Purge, according to messages to his ex-personal trainer Troy Piedade.
He didn’t like the movie because of the dismembered bodies. He wrote: ‘Fools really do get cut to pieces in Mexico. It’s difficult for me to make a film about it, I’m suffering from purge 2 anarchy.’
Sam Haskell (pictured), the son of a Hollywood hotshot of the same name, has been charged with three counts of murder in connection with the disappearance of his wife Mei Haskell, 37, and her parents
Haskell lived with his wife Mei, 37, pictured, their three sons and her parents
Sam Haskell (black text box) speaks with his personal trainer Troy Piedade (blue text box)
Speak with TMZTroy said he felt something “a little strange” with Haskell, whom he met almost 15 years ago. Troy added that he feels Sam was “very disturbed” but that he didn’t think his former client could be a murderer.
Other texts show the relationship the alleged killer had with his ex-personal trainer, with them messaging each other from time to time on various topics.
Mei’s friends previously told DailyMail.com that she had wanted to divorce Haskell for at least four years but feared his father, a powerful cop, would convince the court to give him custody of their three children, aged six, eight and 12.
“These shocking and heinous crimes have sent shockwaves through our community. We stand with the victims’ loved ones during this unimaginably difficult time and will do everything in our power to ensure that justice is served,” District Attorney George Gascón said as he announced the charges.
Haskell is currently being held on $2 million bail after he was arrested on suspicion of murder when a headless torso was found in a dumpster near his home.
Prosecutors allege that Haskell hired four day laborers to remove black trash bags from his LA home the day after the murders.
One worker said he was paid $500 to remove three large garbage bags – adding that Haskell claimed they were filled with rocks before later pretending the body parts were “Halloween props.”
“When we picked up the bags, we could see that they were not stones,” the worker said NBC LA, and noticed that the bags were soft and moist.
When they looked inside, they saw “body parts, a belly button.”
‘I was surprised. Of course I felt bad. We were cheated,” he said.
Mei Haskell (left), her mother YanXiang Wang, 64, and her father Gaoshan Li, 72, are all missing. Haskell has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife Mei
Police, along with Mei’s parents, search the $2.5 million, six-bedroom home where the young Haskell family lived
Other texts show the relationship the alleged killer had with his ex-personal trainer
The men then took the bags and money back to Haskell’s home and told him they “didn’t want to be involved.”
The workers went straight to police and notified the California Highway Patrol and police.
Prosecutors said that later that day, Haskell was “allegedly observed and photographed a short distance from his home disposing of a large garbage bag in a dumpster in the 16000 block of Ventura Boulevard.”
Haskell is the son of Samuel Haskell III, a former executive vice president and global head of television for the talent agency William Morris Endeavor.
His clients included Dolly Parton, George Clooney, Kathie Lee Gifford, Whoopi Goldberg and King Charles’ brother Prince Edward. He retired in 2004 and founded Magnolia Hill Productions.
The suspect’s father was also CEO of the Miss America organization from 2015 to 2017, but resigned after it emerged that he had criticized some contestants in private emails, ridiculing one for gaining weight and the other described as promiscuous.
Mei’s friends have revealed the alleged fear she lived in for years, given the family’s connections.
“May first brought up divorce when I got one in 2019,” a friend named Jenny told DailyMail.com exclusively. “I told her she could do it, but she just felt like she couldn’t risk losing her boys.”
“Mei felt trapped,” says longtime friend Jenny, who asked to give only her first name for fear of reprisals from the prominent Haskell family.
A bag containing a headless torso was found, stuffed into a duffel bag and thrown into a dumpster behind Ventura Boulevard and Rubio Avenue, near a family restaurant, hair salon and two banks
The LA dumpster where a woman’s dismembered torso was found before ex-Hollywood cop Samuel Haskell Snr’s son was arrested for murder
‘She said she couldn’t leave because of the boys. She was afraid that her husband would take the children away with the help of his very wealthy and influential father.’
“She said it didn’t happen. That there was no way she could divorce.
“Maybe she started it again and he snapped.”
“There was also physical abuse,” Jenny added. ‘She told me he had hurt her. He had hit her.’
Jenny also claimed that Mei told her that her husband did not get along with her mother Wang and father Li.
The parents had moved to their home in Tarzana, 25 miles north of Los Angeles, about five years ago to care for the couple’s three young sons, ages six, eight and 12.
‘She said he was rude to them and ignored them. That they made him angry,” said a friend.
‘They didn’t speak English, but he made no effort to interact with them.
‘When Mei’s youngest son was born, her parents moved from China to care for the baby. They were very helpful with the children.
“Mei has no other family here besides her parents.”
Mei’s friends describe her husband as ‘weird’. “He was making sudden movements with his arms and blurting out things,” said one person, who asked not to be named.
‘When I first met him I immediately thought of Jeffrey Dahmer, that same eerie atmosphere. He walked very quickly with his head down, rarely looking up and never making eye contact.
‘We are absolutely devastated. Mei was such a bright light and loved her children so much. She wanted to create a beautiful world for them and she did.
‘Mei was the one we all went to when we needed help or advice. She was always there for us. She was always so positive. She never complained. Her boys were her everything and the boys loved her so much.”