Police continue investigation Saturday into Excelsior Springs kidnapping, sexual assault
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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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Update: Police on Sunday said they will begin to examine the large amount of evidence gathered from the Excelsior Springs home where police were investigating a suspected kidnapping and rape. That story is posted here.
Police tape blocked off several streets Saturday as authorities continued an investigation into a kidnapping and sexual assault at an Excelsior Springs house.
Timothy Haslett Jr., was arrested Friday and charged with first-degree rape, first-degree kidnapping and second-degree assault in Clay County Circuit Court.
A malnourished victim apparently broke free from the home early Friday morning, screaming for neighbors to help her, police said.
“When we made contact with her, it was readily apparent that she had been held against her will for a significant period of time,” said Excelsior Springs police Lt. Ryan Dowdy.
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 Friday evening.
Police on Friday and into the weekend focused their investigation on a home in the 300 block of Old Orchard Street. The woman had told police that there were possibly two other victims, though police declined to say if other victims were suspected or had been located.
A cadaver dog was brought out to search the property Friday, but police declined to comment on any findings. A truck was moved into an evidence area 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 Friday.
Police asked for the community to be patient as they continued to search the Old Orchard Street home so they could get “justice for the victims and make sure that she is taken care of and that this case doesn’t fall by the wayside,” Dowdy said.
On Saturday afternoon, Excelsior Springs Police Chief Greg Dull said in a news release that there were “numerous items in the residence that have to be sorted through and it is a slow, painstaking process.” The investigation was ongoing “and additional charges could be forthcoming if evidence of additional crimes is uncovered,” he said.
Excelsior Springs neighbors and the community at large continued to await news of any findings stemming from the investigation as it entered its second day.
Among them was Susan White, who said she hardly got any sleep Friday night through Saturday morning as flashing red and blue lights from police vehicles shone through her bedroom window.
She and her family have lived across the street for two years. But they’ve been part of the community for three decades, and her now-grown children were educated in Excelsior Springs schools.
She and other neighbors have spent the past day in a state of worry, wonder and disbelief.
“It’s just so crazy, White said. “She was in the house and we didn’t even know.”
“That could have been me,” she added. “That could have been my daughter.”
Over recent weeks, Excelsior Springs had seen its share of crime and violence — including a police shooting where a man was killed and an officer was wounded, and another fatal shooting across town that left a mother of five dead. Residents have told The Star those events have been a troubling sight for the small, suburban community.
“It’s a small town,” White said, adding: “We’ve been here forever, and the past month and a half for this town has been absolutely nuts.”
This story was originally published October 8, 2022 at 4:35 PM.
