'I deserve to die': Mo. man gets life without parole for keeping missing woman in cage, dismembering her

DALLAS COUNTY, Mo. (TCD) -- A judge ordered a man to spend life in prison without parole almost two months after his accomplice received the same sentence for killing and dismembering Cassidy Rainwater in 2021.

Court records show Timothy Norton pleaded guilty Tuesday, June 27, to murder and was subsequently sentenced to prison. James Phelps, the other man involved in Rainwater’s death and dismemberment, entered an Alford plea in May.

Norton told KYTV-TV in an interview, "I deserve to die, and I am ready for that."

He admitted it’s "not right to take a life," but said "things went sideways" when Rainwater died.

Norton said Phelps choked Rainwater because the two men allegedly believed she stole belongings from them.

Phelps and Norton were arrested in September 2021. Rainwater was reported missing Sept. 1, 2021, and the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office said she had not been seen since July 25. Investigators learned Rainwater was last seen at Phelps' house, and he told police Rainwater "had been staying with him until she got back on her feet, and she had been there for a couple of weeks."

He claimed she left in the middle of the night in August and had not been seen since.

On Sept. 16, 2016, the FBI shared photos with the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office showing a "partially-clothed female in a cage," who officials identified as Rainwater.

The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office said, "The other photos depicted Cassidy’s body bound to a gantry crane, commonly used for deer processing, and her evisceration and dismemberment."

Her remains were found in a freezer on Phelps' property, and detectives uncovered incriminating messages between Norton and Phelps in which they reportedly discussed planning her killing.

Norton reportedly told FBI agents Sept. 20, 2021, that he went to Phelps' house while Cassidy slept on the living room floor and he held her down as Phelps strangled her and put a bag over her head. Then, the two men "took a short break before carrying her body outside."

Phelps reportedly tied her to the crane and "began evisceration and dismemberment of Cassidy’s body."

Norton told officials he assisted in carrying Rainwater back into the house and putting her in the bathtub.

Phelps' house burned down in October 2021.

MORE:

• State of Missouri v. Timothy Norton
• Timothy Norton enters guilty plea in death of Cassidy Rainwater in Dallas County - KYTV
• Mo. man accused of leaving missing woman in cage, dismembering her gets life without parole, 5/1/2023 - TCD
• 2 Missouri men arrested for allegedly keeping missing woman in a cage, 9/30/2021 - TCD
• Murder charges filed on the Cassidy Rainwater case, 11/17/2021 - Dallas County Sheriff's Office