TV Producer’s Son Arrested For Murder Suspicion, Headless Torso Found Nearby House

The young man is the son of the founder and former president of Magnolia Hill Productions. Sam Haskell Sr. produced a number of prominent features with stars including The Waltons and Dolly Parton.

The victim, who has not yet been identified to the public, was found dismembered and stuffed inside a trash bag several miles from Haskell Jr.’s Los Angeles home.

Though it is too early to know for sure what occurred, there are a number of factors that link Sam Haskell Jr. to the heinous crime, resulting in the police locating and arresting the TV producer’s son at the Topanga mall.

Once investigators searched Haskell’s home, they reportedly discovered evidence, including traces of blood, connecting the 35-year-old to the incident.

Neighbors initially reported sightings of bags full of dismembered body parts sitting outside of Haskell’s home Tuesday night, though the bags were already discarded by the time investigators arrived.

Early on Wednesday morning, a homeless man reported the remains to police, which included the headless torso of a woman.

To make matters worse, Sam Haskell’s wife, 37-year-old Mei Haskell, has reportedly gone missing, along with her parents, 72-year-old Gaoshan Li, and 64-year-old YanXiang Wang.

With nobody currently able to reach Mrs. Haskell at this time, it is suspected that the body found by police is hers.

Once police arrived on the scene, they were able to pull video records from nearby surveillance cameras which confirmed that Sam Haskell’s car had dropped the bags off at the dumpster.

This, along with a great deal of mounting evidence, seemed to give the police more than enough to justify a warrant for the TV production heir’s arrest, resulting in an expeditious manhunt. According to public records, Haskell Jr. was booked on one count of suspicion of murder.

Sam Haskell and Mei also have three school-aged children who are currently safe and being looked after by family members, according to reports from the press.

Haskell is currently being held by police under a bail agreement of $2 million, with court arraignments set to begin on November 13.

In the meantime, police are hard at work identifying the mutilated body of the victim, while also searching for Mrs. Haskell’s unaccounted-for family members.

Given that the perpetrator went so far as to behead and dismember the victim in this case, police have expressed significant difficulty in ascertaining an ID, though investigators seem to be fairly confident that their arrest will hold up.

The motives for this horrific act of violent cruelty are also unknown, with very little information revealing why Sam Haskell Jr. would snap like this, if he is indeed the killer.

Regardless, the story will surely haunt the Haskell family for generations to come, with the family name going from wholesome television production credits to the focus of morbid true crime podcasts seemingly overnight.