Suspect in Excelsior Springs investigation charged with kidnapping, rape: Police
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Excelsior Springs, Missouri kidnapping, rape case
A woman who escaped captivity in an Excelsior Springs home had been raped repeatedly while being kept in a room designed to hold her hostage since sometime in early September, according to court documents. Timothy M. Haslett, 39, is facing kidnapping and rape charges in the case.
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An Excelsior Springs man faces charges of kidnapping and rape after police say a malnourished victim who spent a “significant period of time” held against her will apparently broke free from his home early Friday morning, screaming for neighbors to help her.
The suspect, Timothy Haslett Jr., was promptly arrested, followed by hours of police investigation centered on a small white house on a corner lot. On Friday night, Police Chief Gregory Dull announced in a statement that Haslett had been charged with first-degree rape, first-degree kidnapping and second-degree assault in Clay County Circuit Court.
Police were first contacted shortly before 8 a.m. Friday to investigate a report of a woman who said she had been sexually assaulted and detained by a man at the house. She also mentioned to police that there were possibly other victims, though police declined to say if other victims were suspected or had been located.
“When we made contact with her, it was readily apparent that she had been held against her will for a significant period of time,” Excelsior Springs police Lt. Ryan Dowdy told reporters during an evening press conference.
The victim, who is from the Kansas City metropolitan area, was transported to a hospital and was in stable condition. Her family had joined her at the hospital, Dowdy said.
Police officers were on scene all of Friday and began to search inside the residence and the surrounding property after obtaining a search warrant that afternoon. Investigators were seen going through a pile of trash in the backyard of the residence, and neighbors reported witnessing the removal of a blue barrel from the basement into the yard, which was placed under an evidence tent that had been set up.
A cadaver dog was brought out to search the property, and a truck that had been towed away, but police declined to comment on any of those findings until a full report was completed.
Details about the full scope of the investigation remained unclear as of Friday night. It was still ongoing and expected to last days, Dowdy said, and police were asking the public for grace and patience as they expected to have crime scene personnel there late Friday night and early Saturday morning.
Several neighbors also told The Star the woman who escaped was bruised and appeared to have been tied up or handcuffed. Of the neighbor, several said he largely keeps to himself.
Many watched in disbelief from their front yards, porches and driveways as uniformed and plainclothes police maintained a heavy presence on the other side of the crime scene tape throughout the day.
Missy Hancock, a neighbor who lives on the next street, said for the three years she saw the resident’s backyard, it was trashy and always filled with junk. She said the man who lived there was around before she moved to the neighborhood.
She tried to speak to him once since they were neighbors, she said. But, she added:“He wasn’t having it.”
This story was originally published October 7, 2022 at 10:32 PM.
