CCTV footage has caught the moment a man driving a white SUV dropped a “large object” into a rubbish bin where a woman’s headless torso was later found.
The body was recovered on Wednesday by a homeless man looking through the trash in Encino.
While the remains have yet to be formally identified, sources close to the case have claimed police believe the body is that of Mei Haskell,37.
Haskell has been missing for at least a week as have her parents Gaoshan Li, 72, and YanXiang Wang, 64, who lived with her and her husband Sam Haskell IV in their £2 million Los Angeles home.
Haskell IV was arrested hours after the discovery at a mall in Topanga and has since been charged with murder.
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The CCTV footage shows a white SUV entering a parking lot in Encino, and a man getting out to retrieve a large back from the trunk.
After struggling to move the hefty bag towards the dumpster, he throws the package into the bin and drives off.
Witnesses to the scene shared details of the car’s licence plate with the police, according to a Fox News source.
The Haskell family allgedly owns two white SUVs, a VW Tiguan and a white 2014 Nissan Pathfinder. Both vehicles now appear to be missing as well.
Sam Haskell IV, the son of Hollywood producer Sam Haskell, and his wife Mei share three children aged six, eight and 12, who were all safely located at their school after their father’s arrest.
On his TikTok profile, Haskell shared footage of himself engaging in bizarre monologues, including one in which he claimed to be resentful.
He said: “My resume says unhappy, resentful, and really good at ordering off the menu. Now I’m never going to stop drinking.”
A neighbour of the couple, who was friendly with Mei, claimed Haskell IV had been known to behave strangely, telling ABC 7 News: “The husband – something seemed so off.
“Something seemed so weird. I thought maybe he was sick, or something was wrong. All I said was, I kept saying to my family, ‘something is wrong with him’.”
Another neighbour described Mei Li as a “very sweet, generous person, very social. She loved to throw parties — I’d say some of the best parties I’ve been to.”
But Haskell IV “would come in and was smiling and kind of friendly, but not outgoing” before he disappeared to “go to his room, maybe go on a walk.”
The discovery of the headless torso came only hours after police responded to calls about a dead body left on the couple’s driveway.
Construction workers reported spotting the remains in a bag but when officers arrived the alleged remains had been gone.
Detective Efren Gutierrez said: “When the officers responded, nothing was located.
“There was no evidence that allowed the officers to make entry into the home. The bags that were described were no longer outside.”
The bag the workers described was consistent with the one found in the dumpster alongside the torso, and CCTV footage ultimately led officers to Haskell IV.
Gutierrez added: “Here in the house, once officers made entry, what was discovered was evidence of a crime, including some blood evidence and other items that I’m not going to provide at this point.”
Haskell IV has been booked at the Van Nuys jail on a £1.6 million bond and will appear in court on November 13.
