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A friend of suspected murder victim Mei Haskell has said that "something is wrong" with her husband and accused killer, Samuel Haskell.
Haskell was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of killing his wife after a dismembered torso was found in a trash bin just a few miles from the home they shared with her parents in California.
A woman told Los Angeles TV station KABC Thursday morning said she was friends with Mei and even invited her and Haskell to a house party.
The woman, who did not want to be identified, said: "They came there...very nice, beautiful, but the husband...I was shocked. Something seemed so off. Something seemed so weird. I kept saying to my family, 'Something is wrong with her husband.'"
Neighbor Sally Raber told KABC she rarely saw the family but said she spotted Samuel on the day police were initially called to the home.
"I don't see them much.... I was driving on Tuesday, I was driving home, and I saw him walking on the street. He was wearing all black," she said.
On Wednesday, Samuel Bond Haskell IV, 35, was arrested on murder charges at a mall at the Westfield Topanga shopping mall in Canoga Park at around 11:30 a.m. Authorities also suspect he may be involved in the potential deaths of Mei's parents, Yanxiang Wang, 64, and Gaoshen Li, 71, who are missing. Haskell is being held in the Van Nuys Jail on $2 million bail.
Haskell and Mei lived with her parents in a single-story house in Tarzana. The couple have three children, who were at school at the time the suspected murder is believed to have taken place. They have all been placed in the care of the county Department of Children and Family Services.
The dismembered torso, which was discovered in a duffel bag approximately 5 miles from Haskell's residence, is being examined by forensic teams to determine if it is Mei.
A witness reported possible body parts in bags outside Haskell's Tarzana home to police on Tuesday evening. The bags had been removed by the time officers reached the scene.
On Wednesday morning, a person searching for recyclables found the dismembered torso in an Encino strip mall dumpster at around 6 a.m. Security camera footage linked the remains to the reported bags at Haskell's home.
"Here in the house, once officers made entry, what was discovered was evidence of a crime, including some blood evidence and other items that I'm not going to provide at this point," detective Efren Gutierrez of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said during an evening news conference on Wednesday.
Newsweek has reached out by email to the LAPD for an update on the investigation.
The body part is being examined by forensic teams, police confirmed, but Mei, Wang and Li are still considered missing. Gutierrez said attempts to contact Mei's parents have been unsuccessful.
Gutierrez emphasized to reporters on Wednesday that it was unusual for them not to home. He said: "They would normally be home in these hours, and attempts have been made to contact them by phone, by cellphone and no answer. And the same with Mei. She is unaccounted for."
Haskell is the son of Sam Haskell III, a prominent figure in Hollywood and an Emmy winner. He formerly served as the executive vice president and worldwide head of television at the William Morris Endeavor Agency. He is president of Magnolia Hill Productions, the company responsible for producing various Dolly Parton specials.
About the writer
Aliss Higham is a Newsweek reporter based in Glasgow, Scotland. Her focus is reporting on Social Security, other government benefits ... Read more