Neighbors allegedly heard screams from one of Samuel Haskell, Jr.’s children the night before he was arrested for allegedly murdering their mother and dumping her butchered body parts in a dumpster.
Police in California arrested 35-year-old Haskell on Wednesday after a human torso was discovered inside a dumpster in Encino.
Authorities suspect the remains, found inside plastic garbage bags by a passerby, belong to Haskell’s wife, Mei, whose mother and father are also reported missing.
Haskell’s father, Sam Haskell Sr., is the former CEO of the Miss America Organization.
Residents who live near Haskell’s home in Tarzana told the New York Post they likely heard one of the couple’s three children let out a scream for help on Tuesday night.
“We’re next-door neighbors, so my daughter’s room is on the side of the house that borders the Haskells’ property,” neighbor Elle Benami told the outlet.
She added: “My daughter said she heard a scream, ‘Help! Help! Hello?’ And then she heard a car door slam and screeching of tires and a car driving off.”
The Post said all three of the couple’s children were found safe and turned over to the Department of Children and Family Services.
Haskell went by the alias “Samuel Basshinger” professionally and on social media, where he often shared clips from his independent movies.
The films often involved violent topics and imagery, including “Harvard Law,” a movie about drug dealers who get “mentored under the pretense that all teachers lie… to keep you poor,” Haskell wrote in a post.
In a 30-second clip, a character is seen flashing a collection of firearms before shooting someone in the head.
Benami told the Post that Haskell had a “fixation, bordering on obsession, for martial arts.”
“There were also firearms and crossbows in their house,” she said. “Their boys would tell my kids about the weapons, which always worried me — so much so that I wouldn’t let my kids alone upstairs in their home.”
“I know Mei didn’t like having those things inside the house, and she wanted him to get rid of them,” she continued.
On his TikTok page, Haskell shared bizarre videos where he discussed celebrity gossip while driving his car and shared selfie videos.
Haskell’s IMDB page also includes a credit for directing a music video for Cobra Kai star Peyton List in 2019.
During their investigation, the Los Angeles Police Department said they found “evidence of a crime” at Haskell’s home, including the presence of blood, Detective Efren Gutierrez said last week.
Haskell’s father resigned from the Miss America Organization in 2017 after he allegedly sent sexist and crude emails about former contestants.
He was also a celebrity agent and the founder of Magnolia Hill Productions, known for producing Dolly Parton specials.
Haskell is currently held on $2 million bail. He has not entered a plea for the murder charge he faces.
