Mo. man charged with allegedly killing potential witness in kidnapping case and leaving body in barrel

CLAY COUNTY, Mo. (TCN) -- A man who allegedly kidnapped, raped, and held a woman hostage in 2022 is now accused of killing a potential witness in that case and putting her body in a barrel.

Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson announced Tuesday, July 9, that a grand jury returned an indictment against Timothy Haslett Jr., charging with him with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Jaynie Crosdale. Thompson said in a press conference that Haslett allegedly "knowingly killed" Crosdale "in an act of homicidal violence" between June 6, 2022, and Oct. 7, 2022. He could be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole.

His bond is now set at $5 million.

Haslett has already been charged with one count of rape, four counts of sodomy, one count of kidnapping, two counts of assault, and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.

According to Haslett’s probable cause statement, the investigation into Crosdale’s death began on Oct. 7, 2022, when Excelsior Springs Police received a call from someone who said a woman "dressed in a trash bag, metal collar with a padlock, and duct tape around her neck" knocked on her door and said she had been held against her will since September at a house nearby.

Police arrived at the neighbor’s home and spoke with the victim, who said she was walking on Prospect Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri, in early September when a man named Timothy told her he would give her $350 to come to his house. Once she got in his car, he allegedly held her at gunpoint and ordered her to perform oral sex on him and take narcotics. He reportedly confiscated her phones when she fell asleep.

Haslett allegedly locked the woman in his basement, which the prosecutor’s office said in the affidavit is "best described hereafter as a 'dungeon.'" The affidavit says Haslett told the victim that he had held two other women captive, but they "didn’t make it." He allegedly claimed he killed the first woman with a gas mask and the second by electrocution.

Thompson said Haslett is only being charged for Crosdale’s death, and she is not one of those two other victims.

Haslett reportedly fed the victim once a day and she was only allowed to eat if she gave him oral sex. The victim was able to escape one day when Haslett left the house with his son.

Detectives executed a search warrant at Haslett’s house on Oct. 7, 2022, and uncovered computers, hard drivers, cameras, an unsecured gun, lingerie, and the clothing the victim wore when Haslett first picked her up. Thompson said in the press conference that investigators obtained over 100,000 photos and files.

On Jan. 12, 2023, one of Crosdale’s family members reported her missing and said they had not seen or spoken to her since September 2022. One relative said they had not seen her since March 2022, and another said August 2022. Crosdale was reportedly in custody and was released April 22, 2022. According to Thompson, Crosdale had previously been arrested for commercial sex work, which he believes is how Crosdale and Haslett first met.

The affidavit says that on June 24, 2023, officials from the Saline County Sheriff’s Office contacted the Missouri State Highway Patrol to report human remains were found in a barrel floating on the Missouri River. Kayakers reportedly noticed the barrel and wanted to use it for target practice, but when they went to move it, "the lid came off, and a skull came out."

The remains were positively identified as Crosdale’s about a month later. There remains showed evidence of blunt force trauma and "high velocity projectile trauma," which Thompson said appeared to be from a gunshot.

Thompson said, "The deeply physical, psychological, sexual torture described by the defendant’s surviving victim is brutal and barbaric."

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