Timothy M. Haslett, the Excelsior Springs man accused of imprisoning and sexually assaulting a 22-year-old woman in his basement, will continue to be held on a $3 million bond after the body of another woman was found in a barrel in the Missouri River.
Haslett, 40, has been held in jail for the better part of a year after a barely-clothed woman made her way down the street of his home begging neighbors to help her. A metal collar was locked to her neck, restricting her breathing, and she reported to police she had been kidnapped from Kansas City and held against her will for roughly one month.
Prosecutors wanted that bond amount increased after 36-year-old Jaynie Crosdale, sought by police since January as a “potential witness” in Haslett’s case, was found dead in Saline County, roughly 65 miles east of Kansas City.
In a motion filed last week, prosecutors argued an increase in bond was necessary after new evidence emerged that led to “greater concern for the safety of the community than had previously been addressed.”
Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said in court Monday that Haslett is believed to be the last person to see Crosdale before she disappeared.
Tiffany Leuty Winningham, a public defender representing Haslett, noted the 40-year-old has been declared indigent. She said there is no chance Haslett could raise the $3 million cash bond he is already held on.
Judge Alisha O’Hara said, while the details of the witness being found dead are “concerning,” she found no reason to increase Haslett’s bond. She noted prosecutors have not charged him with additional crimes.
In January, a photograph of Crosdale, who is Black, was broadcast by Excelsior Springs police and the Clay County Investigative Squad as they sought information related to the investigation of Haslett.
Kayakers came across Crosdale’s body June 24, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Excelsior Springs Police Chief Greg Dull told area TV station KSHB 41 on Thursday that her body was found in a blue barrel.
Details of Crosdale’s death — and precisely how it pertains to Haslett’s ongoing criminal case — have not been disclosed by authorities.
Prosecutors have said they are “working closely with law enforcement to gather all evidence and information that is needed to build the strongest case possible and deliver justice” for Crosdale.
The investigation of Haslett began Oct. 7 when a 22-year-old Black woman, identified in court papers as T.J., told authorities she escaped Haslett’s home while he brought his child to school. She recalled being picked up in early September on Prospect Avenue in Kansas City and then bound in a room “he had built,” where she was repeatedly sexually assaulted and whipped.
Neighbors in Excelsior Springs who interacted with the woman that morning before she was taken to the hospital said she appeared terrified and talked of Haslett killing two people she knew.
Haslett was arrested that morning outside his home.
Excelsior Springs police, assisted by KCPD forensics investigators and the FBI, searched his house in the 300 block of Old Orchard Avenue for three days. They also brought a cadaver dog, a canine trained to detect human remains, to examine his rental property and pickup truck last year — though they never made any findings public.
Handling of the case has frustrated among many Black Kansas City leaders and residents as Haslett, who is white, is accused of holding a Black woman captive in his home for weeks, after police had dismissed concerns made on social media that a killer was on the loose and that Black women were going missing in Kansas City.
One of the issues raised regarded concerns around reporting missing persons and the barriers critics say the Black community faces in making missing persons reports.