Missouri man charged with kidnapping and raping woman held in torture dungeon, charged with murder of second black victim found in barrel floating in river

A Missouri man accused of torturing and raping a black woman he held captive in his basement for nearly a month faces new charges in the disturbing case.

Timothy M. Haslett Jr. made national headlines in October 2022 for allegedly kidnapping a 22-year-old black woman and imprisoning her against her will in his Excelsior Springs home.

Police only learned of her captivity when she escaped and ran to a neighbor’s house to ask for help. The victim, who was wearing a dog collar around her neck, told neighbors she had been locked in Haslett’s basement and escaped while he was driving his child to school. She was visibly malnourished and had strangulation marks on her wrists and ankles.

Haslett was subsequently charged with nine counts, including first-degree kidnapping, first-degree rape, second-degree assault, first-degree sodomy and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

Months later, authorities discovered the remains of another black woman, identified as 36-year-old Jaynie Croasdale.She may have been another of Haslett’s victims after they found a photograph of Croasdale in Haslett’s basement. Prosecutors say her body was found in a blue barrel floating down the Missouri River.

Prosecutors have now gathered enough evidence to charge Haslett with first-degree murder in connection with Croasdale’s death.

According to court documents, the 22-year-old victim told police that Haslett bragged about killing two other women. Prosecutors also say he built a dungeon-style cell where he held his victims and “punished” them with electric shock devices.

“The physical, psychological and sexual violence is barbaric,” said Clay County Prosecutor Zachary Thompson.

After reviewing his social media profiles, investigators found that Haslett frequently made racist and misogynistic comments about race and women online.

Haslett, now 41, remains in prison. A judge set his bail at $3 million. If convicted of Croasdale’s murder, he faces either life in prison or the death penalty.

A month before his arrest, Kansas City activists had been working to raise awareness about two missing black teenagers who disappeared within days of each other in September 2022. Community members feared a serial killer was on the loose, a claim that law enforcement authorities quickly rejected and called baseless.

Haslett’s arrest highlighted these cases and raised questions about whether law enforcement is devoting enough resources to searching for missing black girls and women.