Man arrested after bag containing woman's torso found in Encino; authorities search for his missing family members

The son of a former well-connected Hollywood executive has been arrested after a woman's torso was found inside a plastic bag near an Encino dumpster Wednesday morning. 

Samuel Haskell was taken into custody on suspicion of murder. His father, Sam Haskell Sr., used to be a Hollywood producer who managed Dolly Parton's career for years. He also was the CEO of the Miss America organization and resigned after a email scandal in 2017.

The gruesome discovery was made just after 6 a.m. in the parking lot of a strip mall north of the Ventura Boulevard and Rubio Way intersection, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

They say that the bag with the body part inside was found by a homeless man searching the dumpster for recyclables. 

Investigators did not believe that the woman's torso had been in the dumpster for more than two days, and as of Thursday afternoon, the dismembered remains have not yet been identified.

Hours later, as the Encino investigation continued, additional detectives were dispatched to a Tarzana residence in the 4100 block of Coldstream Terrace. Police said the search was prompted by surveillance video evidence from Encino.

With SkyCal overhead, the large house could be seen teeming with investigators throughout the late afternoon.

Wednesday evening, LAPD announced that 35-year-old Samuel Haskell had been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the incident. He was taken into custody at the Topanga Mall.   

"Typically if someone, a murder suspect, is dismembering a body it's to delay identification," LAPD Detective Efren Gutierrez said. "So, that by implication would mean that they may have been known to each other."

Detectives said that three people who lived in the same home as Haskell, his wife Mei Li Haskell, 37, and her parents Gaoshan Li, 72, and Yanxiang Wang, 64, all are still missing and a white Volkswagen Tiguan, license 9ANC890, belonging to Mei's parents, is missing.  Neighbors told investigators that the car is normally parked on the street, and they had not seen it at all Wednesday. 

While searching the Tarzana home, investigators said that blood evidence was located but did not provide further details.  

Haskell's three children who also lived in the home were located elsewhere and are being cared for by family members.

Police said Hakdell's white 2014 Nissan Pathfinder, license 7FRM190 is also missing.

Anyone with information on the case was urged to call 877-LAPD-247.