Murder suspect Samuel Haskell IV had an unusual preoccupation with weapons and kept a large collection inside the single family home he shared with his missing wife, in-laws and three young children, DailyMail.com can reveal.
‘He had an obsession with weapons,’ neighbor Elle Benami told DailyMail.com. ‘He had a samurai sword and a crossbow. He did martial arts. I think he was a black belt and he would go to Japan to do martial arts.’
Benami said Haskell, 35, had guns in the house and explained that she wouldn’t allow her kids to go inside their home, despite her close friendship with his missing wife, Mei Li Haskell, 37.
Haskell – the son of a hotshot Hollywood agent – is currently being held on $2million bail after being arrested on suspicion of murder when a headless torso was found in a dumpster near his home.
Samuel Haskell IV, 35, was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of murder after a dismembered female torso was found near his California home
DailyMail.com can reveal that Haskell, the son of a Hollywood agent, had an ‘obsession with weapons’ and kept a collection in the family home
Haskell’s fascination with weapons was further revealed when DailyMail.com discovered music videos he had directed and posted on his Instagram page under the name TragicStreetz. One video showed a man wearing a red beret swinging a sword
The videos show men attacking each other with huge axes and swords. One video showed a man pointing a long sword at another man’s neck, with the hashtag #DemonHills
‘The kids could play here at my house or usually in the front lawn. I was ok with the kids playing in their front lawn,’ said Benami, who feared something could accidentally happen with so many weapons in the house.
Haskell’s sons even bragged to other neighborhood kids that they had weapons in the house, something their doting mother Mei was not fond of and could have very well been an ongoing source of contention between the couple.
‘Would I say that they seemed like a happy couple? No, but I definitely didn’t expect anything like this. I never could have imagined what happened,’ said Benami.
‘He had an obsession with weapons,’ neighbor Elle Benami told DailyMail.com
Benami revealed that she and another friend of Mei’s, whose identity has been withheld, were questioned by detectives after Haskell was arrested on Wednesday morning and were told the disturbing news that body parts and blood had been discovered inside the house.
‘I was interviewed by several homicide detectives. They asked me questions about Mei, what I knew about her family, when was the last time I saw her, about the boys and the husband.
‘We were the first two people that they told that they did find parts of a body inside the house,’ said the mother-of-four. ‘When they broke that news to us, it was completely surreal.’
Haskell’s fascination with weapons was further revealed when DailyMail.com discovered music videos he had directed and posted on his Instagram page under the name TragicStreetz.
The videos show men attacking each other with huge axes and swords. One video showed a man pointing a long sword at another man’s neck, with the hashtag #DemonHills.
Another video showed a man holding a weapon with creepy music in the background, while a man wearing a red beret can be seen swinging his sword around.
A machine gun can be seen in yet another video glamorizing the weapon with hypnotic music playing in the background.
Mei Haskell (left), her mother YanXiang Wang, 64, and her father Gaoshan Li, 72, are all missing, with Haskell arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife Mei
A bag with a headless torso was found stuffed into a duffel bag and tossed into this dumpster behind Ventura Boulevard and Rubio Avenue, near a family-style restaurant, a hair salon and two banks
The Haskells moved into the quiet, family-oriented community of Tarzana, about 25 miles north of Los Angeles, in December 2020.
‘Our kids are similar ages so we spent a lot of time together, especially during Covid. We took daily walks and the kids always played together.’
‘You couldn’t ask for a better neighbor. Mei was an amazing mom, an amazing person and an amazing daughter to her parents,’ said Benami.
Despite spending much time together, Mei never expressed any concerns about her husband. Benami now believes Mei was trying to protect her by not getting her involved with their marital problems.
Benami said she never had a conversation with Haskell in all the years they lived right next door.
‘I was not close with him. It was like a hi, waving to each other. He didn’t make eye contact. He would take a lot of walks in the neighborhood usually on his own.
While many neighbors questioned Haskell’s odd behavior, Benami believes he could have Asperger’s Syndrome, which could explain his off-putting antics especially at the many parties his wife so meticulously put together.
‘One time she brought ponies to her front yard for her son’s birthday. She went all out with parties,’ said Benami. ‘He was kind of off to the side. Not really talking to anyone. Definitely saying hi and not ignoring anybody. He would typically disappear for a little while. He was smiling, friendly outwardly.’
‘Mei was generally an upbeat person, very sweet. Really cute and funny,’ Benami told DailyMail.com. ‘She would often drop off little gifts. She dropped off two huge crates of strawberries.When my water heater gave out, she insisted that we come to her place to take a shower. I was the only one who took her up on it.’
‘I know her parents, they lived here. They were often in the front yard. They actually had two chairs put out and they would sit there and wave. I could not communicate with them because they didn’t speak English but they were very warm, very sweet, very good with kids.
‘I don’t have a good feeling. I don’t think I am ever going to see those three again. She would never leave without the kids. She was an amazing mom and her three boys were very attached to her.
‘She did everything for them. Her whole life revolved around the boys. They did all kinds of extracurriculars and were very accomplished boys. She had very high hopes for them. She was an all around good mom, good person, good daughter to her parents.
‘I have met his parents many times. They are very friendly. They are from Mississippi. They would never miss a single birthday party. His sister Mary Elaine was very involved.’
Haskell is the son of former top Hollywood agent Samuel Haskell III and former Miss Mississippi Mary Donnelly-Haskell. They are seen with Haskell’s Sr’s clientDolly Parton
Haskell worked as a videographer and producer in Los Angeles, according to his IMDB page and social media accounts
Haskell lived with his wife’s parents and their three children as well as his in-laws YanXiang Wang, 64, and Gaoshan Li, 72, who are currently missing.
The three children, aged 6, 8 and 12 were found safe at school and are now with family.
Haskell’s father, Samuel Haskell III, was executive vice-president and worldwide head of television for the talent agency William Morris Endeavor. His clients included Dolly Parton, George Clooney, Kathie Lee Gifford, Whoopi Goldberg and King Charles’s brother, Prince Edward.
He quit in 2004 and later went on to found Magnolia Hill Productions.
The murder suspect’s father was also CEO of the Miss America organization from 2015-17, but resigned after he was found to have criticized some of the contestants in private emails, ridiculing one for gaining weight and describing another as promiscuous.
Haskell III is married to a former Miss Mississippi, Mary Donnelly Haskell, his college sweetheart, and the pair have a daughter, Mary Lane, as well as their son Sam IV.
In his Magnolia Hill biography, the senior Haskell, 68, says he is ‘widely known as ‘the nice guy in Hollywood’.
He continues: ‘Haskell is revered for rising to the top of a turbulent and often conscienceless business with his character, integrity and value-system intact.
‘His reputation for honesty, integrity, loyalty and fairness made him a consistent force in a sea of inconsistency and someone with whom actors, writers, directors and other industry professionals were eager to work.’
The arrest of his son has rocked their neighborhood in Tarzana after the headless torso believed to belong to Wei was found by a homeless person in a dumpster at around 6am.
The dumpster was captured in chilling surveillance footage showing a man struggling to lift a large black bag into of the garbage, before speeding away.