Tag: suicide

TOPANGA CANYON/WOODLAND HILLS—On Monday, July 14, it was reported that Samuel Haskell IV, the son of famed producer Hollywood producer and agent, Samuel Haskell III, killed himself while in prison over the weekend. Haskell IV was 37 years old. According to TMZ, Haskell IV used a razor to take his life.

Samuel was found dead in his cell on Saturday, July 12, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office disclosed. He was charged with three counts of murder as well as the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders. Haskell was facing life in prison without the possibility of parole for his crimes and he was scheduled to appear in court on Monday, July 14 for a preliminary hearing.

Had the case proceeded to a preliminary hearing, the District Attorney’s Office would have presented the following evidence that Haskell IV, was in prison for killing and dismembering his wife and dumping the body, in addition to murdering her parents.

On or about November 6, 2023, he murdered and dismembered his 37-year-old wife, Mei Li Haskell, killed her mother, Yanxiang Wang, 64, and her stepfather Gaoshan Li, 71, in the Tarzana home they all shared.

The following day, Haskell hired and paid $500 to several day laborers to take away heavy black plastic trash bags from his home in Tarzana. After driving away from the home, the workers opened one of the bags and saw human body parts. The workers returned the bags and money to Haskell, took pictures of the defendant, the bags and the front of the residence, then alerted police. When authorities responded to the home to conduct a welfare check, no one was there, and the bags were gone.

Later the same afternoon, he was recorded on video a short distance from his home driving into a parking lot, removing a large trash bag similar to the one returned by the day laborers from the trunk of his Tesla, and disposing of this bag into a trash dumpster in Encino before driving away.

On November 9, 2023, the Los Angeles Police Department revealed they identified and arrested Haskell IV for murder, in connection to the unidentified female torso found in the area of Ventura Boulevard and Rubio Avenue.

On November 8, 2023, around 6 a.m., an individual looking through dumpster bins found a bag containing a woman’s torso, prompting the police to be called. The investigation provided detectives with information that led them to a residence in the 4100 block of Coldstream Terrace in the West Valley area.

The home was forensically processed for evidence and detectives discovered that the location was the family residence where the suspect lived with his wife, Mei Lei Haskell, his in-laws and three children. The children were located and are being cared for by family members.

Investigators determined he rented the Airbnb in October for the time period between November 6 to November 18, 2023. A Home Depot receipt dated October 20, 2023, for the purchase of plywood, canopy, moisture barrier, coveralls and diamond-saw blades was found in his wallet.

Inside the rented vehicle, police found a .357 loaded revolver inside a holster, 32 rounds of live ammunition, a blood-encrusted military-style knife, a headlamp and firearm sight and passports for himself, his wife Mei and their three children. DNA analysis of blood on the military knife matched to all three victims, while blood stains on the firearm matched the genetic profiles of Mei Li and Gaoshan Li. A search warrant was served on the defendant’s office where detectives found $67,000 in cash.

Additionally, law enforcement learned in reviewing the defendant’s cell phone extraction that Haskell Jr. had been having an affair with a 27-year-old woman who they interviewed. He told her in October 2023 that his children would soon be living with his parents.

On November 2, the defendant asked her to accompany him on a trip to Japan. Homicide detectives recovered a one-way ticket to Japan purchased by Haskell Jr. on October 21, 2023. The following day, Haskell Jr. purchased a roundtrip ticket for his girlfriend to accompany him from November 28 to December 12, 2023. The remains of Yanxiang Wang and Gaoshan Li have never been found.

Samuel’s father has worked for high profile celebrities like Dolly Parton and Whoopi Goldberg. Haskell IV was booked for 187 (a) PC-Murder and is currently being held on $2 million dollar bail.

According to the New York Post, Haskell IV was known to have a large cache of weapons in his home. He shot many films that have been posted on his Facebook and TikTok pages that include violence and the fetishization of Asian women. Brandi Glanville, the former star of the reality series, “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” appears on a scene in one of those films.

By Danny Jones

WOODLAND HILLS—On Tuesday, April 9, the Los Angeles Police Department Topanga Division announced that on April 8, around 7:35 a.m., officers responded to the 6200 block of Variel Avenue for a radio call of a homicide investigation. Operations Valley Bureau (OVB) homicide detectives were notified and responded to the scene learning of two related incidents that transpired following the homicide on Variel Avenue.

The LAPD reported that the first incident involved two young children being found on the 405 Freeway near Howard Hughes Parkway. The second incident involved a single vehicle fatal traffic collision in Redondo Beach.

Detectives worked in collaboration with the California Highway Patrol (CHP), the Redondo Beach Police Department, and the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office to determine if the incidents were related and discovered that the victim, Jaelen Chaney, 29, and the suspect, Danielle Johnson, 34, resided together with her two young children, aged eight months old and nine years old, in a residence in the 6200 block of Variel Avenue.

On April 8, around 3:40 a.m., Chaney and Johnson became involved in a verbal altercation that escalated into Johnson becoming violent, stabbing Chaney, who succumbed to his injuries at the scene. A knife with biological evidence was later recovered from the scene, where Johnson fled with her two children in a dark-colored Porsche SUV.

Around 4:30 a.m., the dark-colored SUV was spotted driving on the 405 Freeway when the two children were expelled from the vehicle while it was moving. The nine-year-old child sustained moderate injuries from the fall and was transported to a local hospital. The eight-month-old child sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at scene.

Around 5 a.m., Johnson drove her vehicle at a speed in excess of 100 miles per hour in Redondo Beach near the intersection of Vincent Street and the Pacific Coast Highway and collided with a tree. Johnson did not survive the crash and was the sole occupant of the vehicle.

These events transpired before LAPD personnel were notified of the crime. Around 7:35 a.m., neighbors on Variel Avenue spotted the front door open, which prompted them to check on the well-being of the residents. It was at that time Chaney was discovered dead inside the apartment. After a thorough investigation and collaboration with the above agencies, homicide detectives determined that the incidents were all related and no further threat to the community.

Anyone with additional details is asked to contact Operations Valley Bureau Homicide Detectives at (818) 374-9550. During non-business hours, or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247). Anyone wanting to remain anonymous should call the LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477) or go directly to www.lacrimestoppers.org.

By Trevor

SANTA MONICA—The Santa Monica Police Department attempted to serve an arrest warrant to a suspect at an Inglewood residence on Friday, June 9, where the suspect after a several hour standoff allegedly killed himself. 

The suspect, identified by authorities as Arthur Isaac, 36, was wanted for two violent felonies committed in the cities of Santa Monica and Inglewood. 

At approximately 5 a.m. on June 9, the SMPD’s Criminal Investigations Unit arrived at a location in the 800 block of E. 65th Street in Inglewood to serve Isaac the warrant. 

After a two-hour negotiation period with Isaac, trying to get him to exit the building, SWAT officers entered the premises to find him deceased. According to authorities, his death appeared to be caused by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 

The Los Angeles County Coroner will be investigating the cause of Isaac’s death. No additional details about the case have been disclosed to the public. 

By Paige Strickland