Police have arrested a suspect after the partial remains of a woman were found Wednesday in a trash bin in Los Angeles’ Encino neighborhood.
The torso of a woman was found wrapped in plastic in the parking lot of a commercial property at around 6 a.m. (9 a.m. ET) Wednesday, police said. The discovery was made by a local man who was digging through a dumpster looking for recyclable materials.
Police said they arrested 35-year-old Sam Haskell on suspicion of murder after officers found him at a mall in Topanga on Wednesday.
While the body was so dismembered police said it could not be formally identified, authorities noted that three people who lived with the suspect at a house in the nearby Tarzana neighborhood are missing.
They are his wife Mei Haskell; her 72-year-old father Gaoshan Li, and her 64-year-old mother YanXiang Wang, NBC Los Angeles reported.
Three elementary-school-age children also lived at the address — all were found safe and well at school and were placed in the care of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, NBC Los Angeles reported.
"When the officers responded they discovered a dismembered female wrapped in a plastic bag. It was just outside the dumpster, they confirmed that it was human remains," LAPD Detective Efren Gutierrez told a news conference Wednesday.
Police closed off a section of Clearstream Terrace in Tarzana on Wednesday.
"There was some video evidence that was collected from that scene that led us to this location," Gutierrez said at a later news conference outside the suspect's property.
Police first received a call at 5:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. ET) on Tuesday after someone spotted a suspicious bag possibly including human remains in Tarzana, but when officers turned up they found nothing and there was no evidence to justify entry into the house, Gutierrez said.
NBC Los Angeles said Gaoshan Li was known to have driven a white Volkswagen Tiguan, which is normally parked on the street but is no longer there.
