A man who allegedly tossed dismembered body parts into an Encino trash bin appeared in a downtown courtroom Friday to answer to three counts of murder in connection with the disappearance of his wife and in-laws, but his arraignment was postponed.
Samuel Bond Haskell, 35, of Tarzana, is charged with the killings of his wife Mei Haskell, 37, and her parents, 64-year-old Yanxiang Wang and 72-year-old Gaoshen Li, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
In court Friday, Haskell inexplicably appeared without a shirt on. Over the objection of prosecutors, his arraignment was postponed until Jan. 12. Haskell was ordered to remain jailed without bail.
The victims, who lived in a Tarzana home in the 4100 block of Coldstream Terrace with Haskell and the couple’s three young children, were last seen on or about Nov. 6, authorities said. The children were found and are being cared for by family members, police said.
Haskell was arrested following the discovery of human remains inside a trash bin near Ventura Boulevard and Rubio Way in Encino. Police have said they suspect the remains are those of Mei Haskell, but forensic testing was still being performed.
Prosecutors said Haskell allegedly tried to pay day laborers to remove bags from his home with what they realized were body parts and, when that failed, the defendant was caught on video dumping the bags out of the back of his Tesla into the trash bin.
The day laborers told NBC4 the contents of the bags felt like meat of some kind.
“When we picked up the bags, we could tell they weren’t rocks,” one of the workers said in Spanish.
The murder charges include a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders. If convicted as charged, Haskell would face a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole, prosecutors said.