Sam Haskell IV, the son of a Hollywood producer, committed suicide while he was in a Los Angeles jail awaiting trial, according to the coroner.
Haskell faced accusations of murdering his wife and in-laws on November 6, 2023, and initially entered a plea of not guilty. According to the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner, Haskell died by suicide, inflicted through “incised wounds to bilateral upper extremities.” His body was discovered on July 12.
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in an earlier statement that prosecutors were set to reveal new evidence at a preliminary hearing, which included an alleged affair with a 27-year-old woman. According to Hochman, the new evidence also revealed that a bloody knife with all three victims’ DNA was found in the possession of Haskell.
Sam Haskell, left, killed himself in a Los Angeles jail cell while awaiting trial for the murders of his wife Mei, right, and her parents. (Instagram/Sam Haskell)
Haskell’s attorney previously told Fox News Digital that a court assessment that his client was at risk of self-harm is “wild speculation.”
He was facing three murder charges for the deaths of Mei Haskell, 37, her mother Yanxiang Wang, 64, and her stepfather Gaoshan Li, 71.
The dumpster area off of Ventura Boulevard in Encino California, Nov. 10, 2023, where Sam Haskell is alleged to have dumped his wife, Mei Haskell. (Fox News Digital)
Haskell was facing life in prison without parole if convicted of the murder charges.
After Haskell allegedly killed the three individuals, prosecutors allege he gave a group of laborers $500 to take heavy trash bags out of the home where the victims lived. One of the workers looked inside the bag and allegedly saw human remains, prompting a call to police.
