Tarzana man pleads not guilty to murdering wife, in-laws

A Tarzana man pleaded not guilty on Friday, Jan. 12, to murder charges stemming from the disappearance of his wife — whose dismembered body parts were found dumped in a trash bin — and her parents.

Samuel Bond Haskell, 35, is charged with the killings of his wife Mei Haskell, 37, and her parents, 64-year-old Yanxiang Wang and 72-year-old Gaoshan Li, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

The murder charges include a special-circumstance allegation of multiple murders. Haskell could face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted as charged.

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, Los Angeles police said.

He was arrested following the discovery Mei Haskell’s remains on Nov. 8 inside a trash bin near Ventura Boulevard and Rubio Way in Encino.

Haskell had allegedly hired four day-laborers to remove several heavy, black plastic trash bags from the home, and 911 was called after one worker opened a bag and allegedly saw body parts, according to the District Attorney’s Office. They declined to move them, and Haskell was caught on video dumping the bags from his Tesla into the bin, the DA’s Office has said.

Haskell remained jailed without the possibility of bail.

He is due back in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Feb. 16.