Missouri Man Charged in Connection with ‘Barbaric’ Torture, Death of Woman Held Captive in Dungeon

Prosecutors announced a Missouri man with a history of posting racist and misogynistic comments has been charged with murder after discovering a scene of “barbaric” torture of Black woman, from which one woman escaped in 2022.

On July 9, Clay County Prosecutor Zachary Thompson announced that 41-year-old Timothy Haslett Jr. was charged with first-degree murder after finding a woman’s remains in a barrel linked to Haslett.

In a press conference, Thompson said, “The physical, psychological and sexual violence are barbaric.”

Authorities said they found the body of 36-year-old Jaynie Crosdale in a barrel, which had been shot.

Thompson said Haslett had similar barrels at his Excelsior Springs home and they also found a photo showing Crosdale in Haslett’s basement.

In October 2022, a 22-year-old woman knocked on the door of an Excelsior Springs home, emaciated and wearing a metal collar around her neck, as Front Page Detectives previously reported.

The woman told the person who answered the door that she had escaped from a nearby house, where she was held captive in the basement for almost a month, officials said.

Court records state her body showed ligature marks and other injuries indicative of assault.

The woman told investigators that Haslett, who frequently posted inflammatory comments about women and race, had bragged to her about killing two other Black women.

Court documents state he had built a dungeon-like cell with restraints to keep the women there and he used shock devices to “punish” them.

After the woman’s escape, Haslett was arrested and charged with nine counts, including rape, kidnapping, and aggravated assault, which he pleaded not guilty to in 2023.

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Even though the woman told investigators that Haslett bragged about killing two women, Thompson said authorities were charging him with one count of murder based on the “facts and evidence we have.”

In Missouri, a conviction for first-degree murder can lead to the death penalty or life imprisonment, officials said.

When Crosdale’s body was found in June 2023, her cousin Nikiyah Crosdale told KCUR, “She was just full of energy and life. She could talk to anybody. She was very charismatic.”