Britney Spears conservator appointed guardian of Sam Haskell IV's kids (2024)

The Los Angeles man accused of dismembering his wife and her parents before attempting to dump their remains in the trash has agreed to the appointment of Britney Spears's former conservator as the guardian of his three children, DailyMail.com can reveal.

Samuel Haskell IV, 36, is currently locked up at LA's notorious Twin Towers Correctional Facility as he awaits trial for allegedly murdering Mei Li, 37, and her parents Gaoshan Li, 72, and Yanxiang Wang, 64, in the November horror attack.

The couple, who lived in a $2.5million six-bedroom home in Tarzana, had three children – all of whom are now in the care of his sister Mary Lane Haskell, 34.

But court papers exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com show Haskell has signed off on Jodi Montgomery being appointed the children's temporary financial guardian in May – a decision due to be confirmed in a hearing in August.

Montgomery has also petitioned to be named the administrator of Mei's estate – which includes the family home, which the mom-of-three purchased in 2020.

Although Haskell's name was added to the deeds in 2022 – meaning he owns a fifty percent share in the property – he will not be allowed to touch the proceeds from any sale due to California's 'slayer statute' if he is found guilty of Mei's murder.

The law, which applies in most US states, bans killers from inheriting any of their victim's possessions – which means everything will go to the couple's children.

Montgomery has also been appointed the special administrator of Mei's probate estate which enables her to deal with problems connected to the home, including security.

According to court papers, the property – vacant since November – has been trashed since the murders, with documents noting it 'has been broken into multiple times, items have been taken, and a small fire was set within the premises.'

On Friday, workers were seen changing the locks at the property and a neighbor confirmed to DailyMail.com that the house had previously been vandalized by thieves making off with some children's toys, among other items.

Montgomery was appointed as Spears's personal conservator in 2019 and briefly took control of her finances when dad Jamie had to step away due to illness.

Although he later resumed control, Montgomery remained responsible for Spears, 42, herself until her 13-year conservatorship was terminated in November 2021.

Afterwards, Montgomery said she was pleased with the decision and offered to help Spears in the future if needed.

She said in a statement: 'Throughout the conservatorship, Ms. Montgomery has been a tireless advocate for Ms. Spears and it has always been her goal to give Ms. Spears a path towards the termination of her conservatorship. That day is now here.

'Ms. Montgomery is happy to continue working for Ms. Spears and assisting Ms. Spears in her freedom, independence, growth, wellness, and happiness outside of the conservatorship.'

Haskell, who is the son of Hollywood agent James Haskell III, has pleaded not guilty to the murders of Mei and her parents. He has frequently appeared shirtless in court and was placed on suicide watch in the aftermath of his arrest.

That came after a homeless man discovered Mei's headless torso in a dumpster in Encino, a few miles from the couple's home.

The bodies of Mei's parents have still not been found.

Mei's friends previously told DailyMail.com she had been wanting a divorce for at least four years but feared her husband's powerful agent father would persuade courts to give him custody of their three sons, aged six, eight, and 12.

Neighbors also told DailyMail.com of Haskell's obsession with weapons and said he kept a large collection of them inside the home.

'He had an obsession with weapons,' neighbor Elle Benami said. 'He had a samurai sword and a crossbow.

'He did martial arts. I think he was a black belt and he would go to Japan to do martial arts.'

'The kids could play here at my house or usually in the front lawn. I was ok with the kids playing in their front lawn,' added Benami, who feared something could accidentally happen with so many weapons in the house.

Haskell's sons even bragged to other neighborhood kids that they had weapons in the house, something their doting mother Mei was not fond of.

Benami added: 'Would I say that they seemed like a happy couple? No, but I definitely didn't expect anything like this. I never could have imagined what happened.'

According to prosecutors, Haskell dumped the human remains in the trash after making a previous attempt to get rid of them by hiring four day laborers to remove bags containing the body parts.

One worker revealed that he was paid $500 to remove three large trash bags – adding that Haskell claimed they were filled with rocks before later pretending the body parts were 'Halloween props'.

'When we picked up the bags, we could tell they weren't rocks,' he said, noting that the bags were soft and soggy.'

He and his co-workers looked inside the bags and inside they saw 'body parts, a belly button.'

He added: 'I was astonished. Of course, I felt bad. We had been tricked.'

The men then returned the bags and the money to Haskell's home, telling him they did not 'want to be involved.'

The workers went straight to law enforcement and informed the California Highway Patrol and the police.

According to court papers, later that day, Haskell 'was allegedly observed and photographed a short distance from his home disposing [of] a large trash bag into a dumpster in the 16000 block of Ventura Boulevard.'

The bag was later found to contain Mei's headless torso.

Haskell is next due in court on Thursday.