Discovery of Woman’s Remains Opens New Leads in Rape, Kidnapping Case in Excelsior Springs

An Excelsior Springs rape and kidnapping investigation has new leads after a potential witness in the case was found dead along the Missouri River. Kayakers, in June, found 36-year-old Jaynie Crosdale’s remains on the Hills Island Chute of the Missouri River in Saline County, Mo., according to the Missouri Highway Patrol. Police wanted to speak to Crosdale about Timothy Haslett Jr. Haslett is charged with nine felonies from 2022 after a 22-year-old woman allegedly broke free from an Excelsior Springs house last year and ran to a nearby residence where she said she’d been taken from Kansas City, held in a small room in a basement, bound, beaten, and raped.

Police identified Crosdale as a potential witness in the case. Haslett was charged with first-degree rape, four counts of first-degree sodomy, one count of kidnapping, two counts of second-degree assault, and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.

The case sent waves through the Kansas City area, especially in the urban core where the original survivor said she went missing.“So many people dropped the ball,” said Bishop Tony Caldwell, Founder of the Justice and Dignity Center. Caldwell, last year, called attention to several missing women in Kansas City’s east side, saying police could’ve done more to find those women. The original survivor in the case told police a man named Timothy picked her up along Prospect Avenue.

Previous KMBC Coverage of The Timothy Haslett Jr. Case:

• Potential witness in Timothy Haslett Jr. case found dead by authorities in Saline County, Missouri

• New charges announced in Excelsior Springs kidnapping, rape case, including sodomy and endangering the welfare of a child

• Timothy Haslett, accused in kidnapping and rape case in Excelsior Springs, pleads not guilty

• Technical issue sends Timothy Haslett’s case, others back to Clay County grand jury

• Court documents: Woman tells police Excelsior Springs man picked her up off Prospect last month, kept her in a small room

“So many people just, ‘I don’t want to see it, I don’t want to hear it.’ Literally. A lot of people just wanted to ignore it,” Caldwell said.

Meanwhile, attorney John Picerno says the discovery of Crosdale’s remains allows police to ask new questions of Haslett.“The fact that she was a potential witness in the case that’s pending against him, they’re going to look at him hard,” Picerno said. “The defendant is a good source of incriminating information. He might have something in his house or something on his phone that would implicate him.”

As of Tuesday, there are no new charges in the case related to Crosdale. Prosecutors say they continue to seek justice for both the original survivor and Crosdale. Timothy Haslett’s next court date is in September. The Clay County Prosecutor’s Office has filed a motion to increase Haslett’s bond on the existing case.