Los Angeles man dies in jail while awaiting trial for killing and dismemberment of wife, her parents

LOS ANGELES AP A Los Angeles man accused of killing and dismembering his wife her mother and her stepfather has died in jail while awaiting trial executives stated Monday Samuel Bond Haskell was ascertained dead Saturday in his cell in a downtown Los Angeles jail and died by suicide a report from the LA County district attorney explained He was accused of killing his wife and the mother of his three children Mei Haskell along with her mother -year-old Yanxiang Wang and stepfather -year-old Gaoshan Li Haskell had pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder His next pretrial hearing had been scheduled for Monday Haskell is the son of Emmy-winning television producer Sam Haskell a former executive at the powerful William Morris talent agency An email seeking comment from his attorney and family wasn t promptly answered The attorney Joe Weimortz notified NBC that Haskell had been willing to waive a preliminary hearing where evidence would be presented publicly and to waive a jury trial because of the effect it would have on his children Weimortz commented Haskell was not afraid of prison but was afraid of an even larger media spectacle He added that The Haskell family grieves every single life lost in this episode District Attorney Nathan Hochman stated in a comment that by killing himself Haskell had escaped justice and denied the casualties relatives a chance to face him Haskell had faced the possibility of life in prison without the chance of parole if convicted In their announcement prosecutors laid out the evidence they intended to present against Haskell They allege that he killed the three casualties on Nov in the house they all shared in the Tarzana neighborhood of Los Angeles The following day prosecutors say he paid day laborers to remove heavy plastic trash bags from the property After driving away they discovered body parts in the bags They returned the bags and the money to Haskell s house and called police but no one was home and the bags were gone when officers arrived Prosecutors explained they obtained a video of Haskell putting a black plastic bag into a dumpster and another of him transferring trash bags between his wife s Tesla and an SUV he had rented Later the same day a man going through a dumpster discovered a beheaded torso later determined to belong to Mei Haskell Samuel Haskell who had been staying at an Airbnb with his children since the killings was arrested on Nov From the family home police recovered eight plastic bags whose contents included bloody bedding towels a large machine saw a machete a plywood board covered in blood and canes belonging to the older casualties The bodies of Wang and Li have not been located but bloodstains on a gun and knife uncovered in the rented SUV matched the DNA of all three casualties officers announced