Los Angeles police have arrested the son of a Hollywood producer in connection with the discovery of the torso of a woman who sources cited by the Los Angeles Times as potentially his wife.
Samuel Haskell, 35, was arrested on suspicion of murder after deputies found him at a shopping center in Topanga on Wednesday. Haskell is the son of Hollywood executive Samuel Haskell, Sr.
[Shock in Los Angeles over the discovery of a female torso inside a dumpster]
Police Capt. Scott Williams of the Robbery and Homicide Division said the torso is believed to be that of Haskell's wife, whose whereabouts remain unknown, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The report is the latest development in a case that shocked the Los Angeles community. The partial remains of a woman were found Wednesday, wrapped in plastic, in a dumpster in the parking lot of a commercial property in the Encino neighborhood. It was found by an area resident around 6 a.m. who was looking for recyclables.
Samuel Haskell Sr., is a former executive vice president and head of worldwide television at William Morris, where he represented celebrities such as Ray Romano, Whoopi Goldberg, Michael Feinstein, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, Martin Short and Sean Hayes, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Haskell Sr. is also a former chairman of the board of directors of the Miss America Organization and is currently the founder and president of Magnolia Hill Productions, where, in partnership with Dolly Parton, he has produced television movies for NBC, sister network of Noticias Telemundo, among many other content.
[Mexico investigates the discovery of a lifeless body "stuck" in the buoys installed by Texas and another body in the Rio Grande]
While the woman's body was so dismembered that police initially said he could not be formally identified, authorities said three people who lived with the suspect at a home in the nearby Tarzana neighborhood are missing. They are: his wife Mei Haskell; his father Gaoshan Li, 72, and mother YanXiang Wang, 64, NBC Los Angeles reported.
Forensic analysis is still needed to confirm the identity of the torso.
Three school-age children also lived at Haskell's home — all were found safe and sound at school — and were placed in the care of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.
"When officers arrived at the scene, they discovered a dismembered woman wrapped in a plastic bag. It was right outside the dumpster," LAPD Detective Efren Gutierrez said during a news conference Wednesday.
Gutierrez, quoted by the Los Angeles Times, said efforts to contact Mei Haskell's parents have yielded no results.
"Normally they would be at home at this time, and we have tried to contact them by phone, by mobile and they have not answered. And the same with Mei. She's missing," the officer said.
The local media details that Haskell is being held on bail of $2 million.