MEI LI HASKELL may have still been alive when she was decapitated, an autopsy released last Thursday by the Los Angeles Medical Examiner found.

The Chinese-American’s husband, Sam Haskell, has been charged with murdering his 37-year-old wife and her parents, Gaoshan Li, 72, and Yanxiang Wang, 64, last November in Tarzana, California, the United States.

On Nov. 7, Sam hired day laborers to dispose of large bags. The laborers allegedly found human body parts in the bags, returned the bags and then notified police. Sam allegedly was seen later that day on surveillance video disposing of a bag in a nearby Encino dumpster. A person going through those bags discovered a woman’s torso, prompting a police investigation. Coroners identified the torso as Mei Li’s.

Sam was arrested on Nov. 8. He plead not guilty to the murders of his wife and in-laws on Jan. 12.

A copy of the autopsy on Mei Li’s torso noted that her head, arms and legs were absent.

The report noted a “sharp force injury at the neck” and the bone margins at the amputation areas described as “remarkably smooth,” suggesting “a sharp powered tool was likely used” in the amputations.

The report also stated, “There was no definitive indication that the dismemberment occurred antemortem, however, the possibility that the head and neck removal was initiated prior to death cannot be entirely excluded.” In other words, while there was no indication the head was removed after death, the autopsy did not rule out that Mei Li was still alive when she was decapitated.

The coroner concluded that the most likely mechanisms of death were blunt force, gunshot or sharp force trauma to the head/neck or asphyxia. The coroner also did not rule out the possibility of poisoning.

“Given the circumstance of the case, which includes the deliberate concealment of the body by dismemberment and disposal, the cause of death is homicidal violence,” the report concluded.

The bodies of Mei Li’s parents have not been recovered.

If convicted, Sam could be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Haskell, the son of a well-known Hollywood executive, started dating Mei when the two were students at Cal State Northridge, her uncle was quoted by South China Morning Post as saying.

The young woman moved to the United States in the mid-2000s to study accounting; her mother and stepfather had to sell their house in China to afford her tuition.

The couple married after graduation, and following the birth of their first child 13 years ago, Mei’s mother and stepfather moved from China to live with the Haskells. Little is known about what led up to the violence. (SD-Agencies)