A man with a history of posting racist and misogynistic material online and who is already behind bars, accused of committing heinous sexual crimes from inside the dungeon of his home, now faces a murder charge.
Timothy Haslett Jr., 41, was first arrested in late 2022 after a 22-year-old Black woman ran to one of his neighbors’ homes and said she had escaped from his sex dungeon in suburban Kansas City after a month of captivity.
On Tuesday, Clay County District Attorney Zachary Thompson announced that Haslett was now charged with the first-degree murder of 36-year-old sex worker Jaynie Crosdale. Her body was discovered in a barrel in a river in Missouri in June 2023. She was shot to death.
The 22-year-old victim previously told investigators that Haslett mentioned two other black women he abducted who “did not survive.”
The victim said Haslett regularly drugged her, forced her to perform sexual acts, rarely fed her and liked to dress in women’s lingerie in front of her. Thompson described Haslett’s behaviour as “barbaric”.
Timothy Haslett of Excelsior Springs, Missouri, already charged with rape, kidnapping and assault, now faces a murder charge.
Jaynie Crosdale, 36, was found dead in a barrel in the Missouri River in June 2023.
Haslett was linked to Crosdale’s death after the barrel she was found in was seen in photographs taken by investigators at her home. A photograph showing the slain woman was also found in her cell, authorities said.
At the time the woman’s body was found, her cousin, Nikiyah Crosdale, said: KCUR that the victim, known as J-Bird, was “full of energy and life.”
The case against Timothy Haslett Jr.
October 2022: A 22-year-old black woman says she escaped from Timothy Haslett Jr.’s sex dungeon in suburban Kansas City after a month of sexual abuse in captivity.
November 2022: After being arrested, Haslett’s ex-wife requests full custody of their son. At a custody hearing, he denies the allegations against him.
January 2023: Police announce that Jaynie Crosdale is considered a witness in the case against Haslett.
February 2023: Haslett makes his first court appearance and pleads not guilty to the series of charges against him.
June 2023: Kayakers find the remains of Jaynie Crosdale in a barrel on the Missouri River. She had been shot to death. Shortly afterward, officials confirm that they are investigating Haslett in connection with the murder.
July 2024: Haslett is charged with Crosdale’s murder in Missouri, a state where the death penalty is applied.
Prosecutors believe she was killed in June 2022. Her body was found by kayakers on the Missouri River. Prior to that discovery, she had been considered a possible witness in the original case.
The case against Haslett began in October 2023, when Haslett’s surviving victim walked into a home in the Excelsior Springs community. She was scarred, starving and wearing a trash bag and a metal collar around her neck.
She managed to escape while he was taking one of their children to school. Shortly after his arrest, his ex-wife filed for full custody of the couple’s young son.
That woman told one of Haslett’s neighbors, nurse Lisa Johnson, about her ordeal and described the suspect’s sex dungeon, equipped with restraints, weapons including stun devices, and cameras.
She said Haslett had paid her $350 to go home with him. After getting into his truck, she accused Haslett of pointing a gun at her and forcing her to perform sexual acts. He then drugged her and knocked her unconscious.
Once inside her home, the victim said she was mistreated and tortured daily while being forced to use a bucket as a toilet.
“It was a gentle ‘help me,'” Johnson told DailyMail.com in 2022. “And I looked through our clear screen door and this little girl was hunched over along the steps.
‘I could tell immediately that I was in serious trouble: I looked like something out of a horror movie.
‘He had a homemade metal device tightened around his neck, there was duct tape that had been removed from his face covering his mouth.
“Her wrists and ankles were shattered. It was obvious that she had been tied up and whipped. The wounds on her body, wrists and ankles were bleeding.”
Following their rescue, investigators recovered a Samsung phone containing photographs and videos of the dungeon and the women in captivity.
“The physical, psychological and sexual torture described by the defendant’s surviving victim is brutal and barbaric,” Thompson said.
The 22-year-old victim said she was only able to escape on Friday, October 7, when Haslett, 39, took her son to school.
Police have erected a fence around Haslett’s run-down rental property, where he allegedly held the woman captive since September.
After entering the property, Excelsior Springs police officers said they found a room in the basement that matched what the victim had described.
“When crimes like this occur in our community, it can be devastating. I want the citizens of Clay County to know that the men and women of the Clay County District Attorney’s Office are working hard inside and outside the courtroom to ensure their safety and deliver justice.”
As a result of his statements, Haslett was charged with rape, kidnapping and aggravated assault. In 2023, he pleaded not guilty. His bail was set at $5 million.
Despite his claims that two of his kidnapping victims died, Haslett has so far only been charged with one murder. Missouri is a state that carries out the death penalty.
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