Hidden True Crime - If You See a Blue Barrel: Kansas City House of HORRORS | Timothy Haslett Jr. Excelsior Springs

Episode Date: July 21, 2024

This is a case Hidden True Crime has been following since the very beginning. If you're new to Timothy Haslett Jr and the Kansas City House of Horrors, begin here. We will be sharing many of our interviews as well as the all of the evidence we have uncovered from the Excelsior Springs, Missouri Kidnapping. About Hidden True Crime: Lauren Matthias was a television reporter for a decade and she and her husband, Dr. John Matthias, a forensic criminal psychologist, started Hidden True Crime in 2020 with their Season, 'Beyond the Veil,' a psychological deep dive into the doomsday murders of Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow. What started as a simple conversation at their dinner table became a captivating podcast. Join the dynamic duo of Dr. John Matthias, a forensic criminal psychologist, and Lauren Matthias, an investigative journalist, as they delve into the psychological facets of unthinkable crimes every week. Their unique perspectives and in-depth analysis offer a fresh take on true crime storytelling. Thank you for your support through sponsorships, subscribing, listening, and becoming a Patreon member at Patreon.com/HiddenTrueCrime Our Sponsors:* Check out Acorns: https://acorns.com/HIDDENTRUECRIME* Check out Acorns: https://acorns.com/HIDDENTRUECRIME* Check out Armoire and use my code HIDDENTRUECRIME for a great deal: https://www.armoire.style* Check out Effecty and use my code HIDDENTRUECRIME for a great deal: https://www.effecty.com* Check out Happy Mammoth and use my code HIDDENTRUECRIME for a great deal: https://happymammoth.comSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/hidden-a-true-crime-podcast1836/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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It is Happiness's Work from AI products. Hello, Hidden Jems. I am about to share a

very important case, a very important crime, multiple crimes. It's a story of Timothy Haslett, Jr.

that we have been covering from the very beginning. And I want to give a trigger warning. The details

here are horrific. I'm not going to lighten this in any way. I'm going to read directly from targeting documents, probable cause affidavits, and they were difficult for me to read.

So there's my warning. It's an important case. Let's delve in and hear the entire story. Clay County prosecutor is telling anyone along the Missouri River, if you spot a barrel, alert authorities. I don't want to speculate about what that could mean

the case, but if you are around the Missouri River, to please, if you see a barrel, contact law enforcement. A bone chilling for warning to an already on edge and disturbed community in Clay County, Missouri in August of 2023. Weeks earlier in late June of 2023, two kayakers were on a trip when they decided to stop and camp for the night in an area known as Hills Island Shoot on the Missouri River. Hills Island Shoot is also known to some locals as the Grand Bottons Pass. But basically, it's an isolated bend in the river surrounded by levees and cornfields,

which makes this look like a great spot for the kayakers to camp for the night. And it was a great spot for a while. However, while the two kayakers were canvassing the area and beginning to set up camp for the night, they noticed something near piles of driftwood, a blue barrel. They thought the barrel would be great to use for target practice. So they decided to move it. and as they removed the barrel from its location in some logs, they dropped it.

The lid came off, and a large white object came out. Maybe the kayakers didn't know exactly what they were looking at, or maybe they didn't want to verbalize their worst suspicions just yet. We don't know. However, one of the kayakers grabbed a pair of pliers and turned the object over, confirming that this was no regular barrel, because the white object that fell out of it was, in fact,

a human skull. Law enforcement was notified and not long after investigators were on the scene. According to investigators, quote, the barrel was a grief brand, blue-colored, 30-gallon barrel with lid and locking ring. The barrel was on its side with the opening facing south. Apparent decomposition matter had run downhill from the barrel. A skull, lower mandible, vertebrate, and several other bones had come out of the barrel and onto the ground. After documenting the scene, the remains which fell out of the barrel were placed back inside. The barrel was then picked up. The lid secured, and it was secured in a body bag.

So you may be wondering, if law enforcement had already found a blue barrel with human remains inside, why did they decide to hold a press conference weeks later, warning the community with concerns about blue barrels? We tried to see if it's someone we might know. So, yeah, it's a... big talk when it happens. It was up here in the grand pass, what we call grandpas bottoms. Did they believe that there were more, more blue barrels with human remains inside, more possible blue barrels in the Missouri River? Really, usually it's a calm place to come to. I don't like seeing the police down here at the river because then you know that something has

happened. Who put the blue barrels in the river? whose remains were discovered in the blue barrel that kayakers found, did police suspect a serial killer? And how did we get here? Everything really in this case begins to unravel nine months before the blue barrel was discovered on October 7, 2022. That day, Excelsior Springs police officers were dispatched to a home in the seemingly quiet, tree-lined, and well-kept neighborhood of Excelsior Springs, Missouri.

that's about 30 miles from Kansas City after a woman began banging on neighbors' doors, screaming for help, saying that she had escaped her captor who had raped her and had been torturing her for weeks. I received word that day, and hidden true crime has been on the story ever since. So I know that there has been some mixed information in the media about whether the woman who escaped asked for the first neighbor she encountered to call 911 or if she told her not to call 911 because the person who had kidnapped her would kill them both. But I spoke with one of the neighbors who called 911, Sierra Tharp.

About 745, 7.50 in the morning, a lady ran to my neighbor's house and knocked on the door and was asking for help. My neighbor wouldn't let her in the house, but she called 911. And so she ran down to my house and knocked on the door. And when my grandma answered, she found a lady that had a collar around her neck. She could see ligature marks. And she was telling my grandma, I've been raped. I've been held captive.

Please help me. You have to help me. He's going to end up killing me. It took her a minute. But then she just knew she needed to help her. And so she brought her in and sat her down and covered her up. Okay, good. She brought her in.

She realized that she really needed help. When you say a collar, what do you mean by a collar around her neck? She had a metal dog collar around her neck, which my grandma described as a collar. You normally see, like, on a pit bull for, like, bad dogs is what she said. It was pretty tight around her neck. Wow. No, my neighbor has been reporting it's a shot collar. My grandma said no.

It was just a metal collar. Okay. Okay. And then what happened? And she had, well, she had duct tape around her neck too, which we're guessing her mouth was probably duct tape. And we think she probably grabbed it and pulled it down when she escaped. And then what did your grandmother do after that? She brought her inside, took care of her, then what?

She brought her in and she covered her up. And she could tell the girl is very hungry. So this is a woman then that's clearly been being held for a long time. She was hungry. Did she look malnourished? Yeah. So my grandma went and grabbed a couple of. couple packages of muffins and a bottle of water for her until the police arrived.

They came in, they questioned her in my house, and she knew, my grandma said she knew every detail. She told them exactly who did it, exactly what house she came from. She had made the comment, my friends didn't make it, he killed my friends, my friends didn't make it. So there are other victims and there are, so we're talking about murders as well? they haven't located any victims as far as we know right now but she was pretty adamant about that her friends had been murdered by him some of the neighbors that live behind his house said that they seen about a dozen barrels being brought out of his basement

really and that's where she had been held captive at she said he had kept her tied up in his basement She said he left to take his son to school And when he left, she took the opportunity to escape And the school's only like maybe two minutes from the house So she she had a matter of like minutes Up to maybe maybe not even 10 minutes To get away before he was back

Did your grandmother, you know this man? He clearly has a child that he's taking to school Was he well known in the neighborhood? No, no, nobody knew him. I've only seen him. One of my neighbors said he's lived there about three years. I've probably only seen him three, four times, maybe. I've only had one interaction with him.

And he wasn't a very pleasant person. We soon learned that the woman who escaped was only 22 years old and that when Ciara Tharp's mother brought her inside the home, giving her shelter and a blanket, according to police reports, the woman was wearing a trash bag, latex lingerie, a black head mask with a dildo gag, a metal collar with a padlock and duct tape around her neck. The middle collar around her neck was so tight that she could barely breathe and she appeared severely emaciated. The woman told Sierra's mother that she had been being held hostage at the neighbor's home since September of 2022.

Identified only by her initials in police docs, T.J. told officers that she was walking on Prospect Avenue in Kansas City. wearing a red wig, red tutu black tank top, black jeans and leggings, and a Harry Potter shirt when she was approached by someone named Timothy. Timothy was in a four-door pickup truck with camouflage in the back. Timothy offered TJ $350 to go to his house with him, and T.J. got into his truck. While on the way to Timothy's house, Timothy pulled a gun on T.J., forcing her to perform oral sex on him. She was also forced to, quote, take a hit of dope, end quote, that made her pass out. And while she was passed out, Timothy took her three cell phones. And once at Timothy's house, he put locked restraints on her wrists and on her ankles

and then locked her in a homemade room in his basement, which law enforcement have now referred to as the dungeon. T.J. told law enforcement that she was terrified, of course. And she described the dungeon, though, as having multiple. locks on the doors, red lights, paddles, chains, cameras, and multiple other items that could be used for torture. She also said that she was forced to use the restroom in a bucket and that she was drugged with ice. The things she described next are some of the most depraved and heinous acts I've read in official charging docs. Even the county prosecutor Zachary Thomas described what T.J.

went through as, quote, brutal and barbaric. So just a warning again. A quote, According to court documents, quote, T.J. stated Timothy, choked, whipped, and forced her to perform oral, vaginal, and anal sex. These acts occurred every day in her captivity. T.J. said that Timothy dressed in female lingerie during these times of the assault in the dungeon, and T.J. said that Timothy fed her only once a day, either peanut butter and jelly or ham sandwiches, but she also, in order to even eat, had to perform oral sex. Timothy would call T.J. a sex slave, his sex slave, and T.J. stated, and this is important, Timothy told T.J. that there were two other females he held captive who, quote, didn't make it, end quote. T.J. did not know their names, and she said there were no other females with her while

she was being held captive. T.J. stated on her first night at the residence, Timothy used a gas mask on her. She described a cycle of not being able to breathe while wearing the mask, and then Timothy would take the mask off and would let her breathe. She would gasp, of course, and Timothy told T.J., he killed the first female by using a gas mask, and that that woman didn't even last three minutes with the mask on. The second woman, Timothy told her, died by electrocution with a device that was used inside her vagina. Timothy told T.J. that if she did not listen to him, he would suffocate her and put her in a barrel like the rest of them. In a follow-up interview, T.J. stated Timothy inserted electric, shocking sex

toys into her vagina and anus at the same time to punish her. Now, another part of the story, T.J. is a black woman. And this is important because just before T.J. escaped. We're talking just a couple of weeks before TJ escaped, a video was posted on social media claiming that a serial killer was targeting black woman in the Kansas City community, mentioning that four black girls had been murdered in Kansas City and that three more reported missing within a week. The video referenced Prospect Avenue where T.J. said she had been taken from. The Kansas City Defender, a local media outlet who states that they focus on black news and community, politics, art, and culture, shared the TikTok on September 24th, 2022, exactly two weeks before TJ escaped and ran to Sierra Tharp's

house. Take a listen. I am a little upset right now. The reason I'm upset is because we got four young ladies that have been murdered within the last week here off of 85th in prospect. We got a serial killer again. And ain't nobody saying nothing. The media is not covering it. We got three young ladies that are missing. Ain't nobody saying a word. What is the problem?

Why can we get some cooperation? Where's our community leaders? Where's our activists? What's our public officials? What's our police department? Where is those folks at? In President Gardens. Come on, now.

We need to start knocking doors. We need to start making sure that this is brought to the light. We cannot continue to let this happen. So then after the Kansas City Defender published this TikTok and it went viral, two days later on September 26th, 2022, the Kansas City Star, which is the city's primary daily newspaper, responded to the TikTok with a TikTok of their own. Take a listen.

You may have seen a viral claim that there is a serial killer loose in Kansas City targeting young black girls. There is no evidence to back this off. Kansas City Police Department said the claim is, quote, completely unfounded, end quote. And we don't see any evidence in the data that we track as the star. The claim that was going viral on Twitter and TikTok said that four black girls have been killed and three others were missing. The Star tracks every homicide reported in Kansas City and we don't have any data to back up those reports. In the past week, no young girls have been killed. There have been two recent missing persons cases, but we have been to recent missing persons cases, but we don't have

One of them was located safely Monday. The other missing girl, Jayonna Brown, 17, was last seen September 9th. CPD had no update in her case as a Monday. If you have more information or more questions about what's going on in Kansas City, tag us and we will look into it. In a statement, a Kansas City Police Department spokesperson said, quote, we are aware of the social media post circulating regarding the murder of four women in Kansas City, Missouri in the past week at the hands of a serial killer.

And the report of three additional women missing. We want to make the public. aware this claim is completely unfounded. There is no basis to support this rumor, end quote. The KCPD spokesperson has also since noted that their investigations are based on reports made to the police department. Quote, there have been no reports made to our department of missing persons, more specifically women missing from Prospect Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri.

In order to begin a missing person's investigation, someone would need to file a report with our department identifying the missing party and court. Excelsior Springs Police confirmed in a news release that detectives checked with law enforcement agencies in the Kansas City metropolitan area and found no current missing persons reports that correspond with the evidence in the investigation. So the man behind the TikTok video warning people about a possible serial killer targeting black women is Pastor Tony Caldwell, a local pastor and community activist in Kansas City. So I reached out to Pastor Caldwell, and he was willing to speak to me. Take a listen to some of that

interview with Hidden True Crime. And you said two weeks ago, three weeks ago, there is a serial killer targeting black women, and then most importantly, you were dismissed before we found this woman being held hostage. What you said was dismissed by Kansas City Police and by the Kansas City Star. Is that correct? Correct me if I'm- Yes, yes. And the media. And the media. Yes. You are totally correct. And it hurts my heart.

And it's not for me. It's for those young ladies that didn't make it out. The young lady that had to continue to endure that, if they would have listened when we first said something about it, in my heart, I'm just thinking she wouldn't have to endure that. that long. But if she would have never escaped, she would have ended up like her friends. And no one would have ever knew. You know, they would have just kept saying, no, there's no one out here snatching women. No, there's no one out here killing women. No, there's no one out here

raping women. And it would have just went dismissed, literally. Right. And this is something that you've seen happen over and over again in your community too, right? That, that, uh, that you are dismissed and your community is dismissed. Is that something you've been seen? Yes, it is. And matter of fact, let's take prospect by itself. There has been so many, uh, women that have been abused on prospect, uh, from the prospect area, from the inner city area. that go just like it's nothing. They don't recognize them. They don't believe them.

It gets swept underneath the rug. And this is, it's just crazy. It's just crazy. The way that it's almost like, here it is again, we don't exist. We don't exist. And I guarantee you this. This young lady, all the stuff that she had to endure, within the next 30 days, they won't even be talking about her anymore.

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It'll be back to who cares. It'll be back to, you know, well, whatever happens on prospect, that's just it. Whatever happens on Independence Avenue? Who cares?

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If you look at we used to have this thing where before we knew who Terry Blair was, they called him the prospect corridor killer. Yeah, tell us about him. going to bring him up. Tell us about him. He prayed on women on prospect. And for for a long time, they kept saying, no, he wasn't. No, it's not a serial killer. But because they kept saying no, because of the young ladies were in a certain area, it just got swept underneath the rug.

Again, we ran across the first body that were the first victim, let me put it that way. as we were doing a neighborhood cleanup from the Prospect Corridor Killer. And we ran across several during that time point. We were doing cleanups. And the first one, they just dismissed. The second one, they said, well, it was just because someone got caught out in the elements. It wasn't until the fourth one that they found they started to recognize, we have a problem. Why did it have to take four young ladies?

they lose their life. And this was in the 1980s. Is that correct? Yes. And you were warning them then, decades ago. This is like deja vu. This is the same thing happening over and over again. Not only then, I mean, then we had Bredela here in Kansas City again.

He did the same exact thing. He prayed upon people up and down that same area. and off of Independence Avenue because he knew if anyone goes to the authorities, it would be dismissed. We had a lady go in and ask about her child being missing, her daughter being missing, and they asked her,

they told her, do you even have a kid? I mean, they didn't believe she even had a child. That's ridiculous. And I want to explain this. People are asking, this woman that was held hostage

and let's say tortured and kidnapped. And, you know, she was not a reported missing person. In the one way that they were attempting to debunk what you were saying was saying, well, there's no reports of missing people. Is that correct? Yes. And I want to explain, it's not so easy to report a missing adult. It's not as easy as people think that is.

This was not a missing person. you know so so i just want to make that clear too just because there isn't a missing just because there's a not a missing person's report doesn't mean that there aren't missing women you said something that that was very profound it is difficult to report a missing person the first thing you do is once you go in and they semi believe you you have to wait 48 hours 48 hours is a long time for a loved one to be missing. And then you have to come back. Most people lose hope.

Most people are discouraged at that time point. So they don't go back. And then sometimes when you go back, if you ever went into a police station to make any type of report, the death person or the officer that comes in to take the report, They listen to you. And then they tell you, okay, thank you. We'll add it to our report for that day.

And most times you leave out of there without a case number. They write all this down from memory. And half of the things get misconstrued over memory. That officer does not write it down right in there. And if they do, if you look at some of their notes, they can really read their own notes. So a date of birth, the misspelling of a name, just something as simple as that could be the report was never made

and knowing that it was. I wish that the police would listen back then and some of the other news outlets would have listened because even with that being said, how many other young ladies have to suffer because we won't pay attention. How many other people have to suffer because we won't pay attention?

They're not second-class citizens. And if you look at how he treated her, he put a collar, a steel metal collar with a padlock around her neck. Every time I think about that, it takes me back to thinking about slavery. how slaves were treated in that same exact fashion sold from one to the other and not even treated as human beings. He didn't treat her like a human.

He didn't treat those other ladies like a human. She said her friends did not make it out. She didn't say her friend, one. She said her friends did not make it out. I'm going to say this, and I may be out here on a limb, but I'm sitting here thinking after all that she endured, I'm believing that he psychologically tortured her also, telling her that no one's going to come looking for you.

No one's ever going to find you. And if you run away, I'm going to kill you and them. And that's what she made a statement about. And I'm sitting there thinking as they dismissed what I was saying. I'm believing in my mind. He took that to even do more to her and let her know, hey, look, here's a news clip of they're not looking for you. They don't believe that you're missing. They don't believe that I have you or you're ever going to get away.

I'm sitting there looking at thinking about her and the hope leave her mind. her mind of ever getting out of there behind being dismissed and knowing that she had to act on her own because no one was coming for her. You know, just that by itself will kill someone's spirit to ever get now. This young lady is a hero. This young lady endured things that we would never fathom. and she got out. When others didn't, she got out.

And we're starting to learn that this is not his first time. Things of that's nature had been going on for a while. There's a child that was in that house. That is terrifying to me. Did a child see this? Did a child know about it? Did a child think this was normal?

You know, why did the white, divorce him. Does she know? She knew that he had this type of behavior. It's just too many red flags that went unnoticed. We always work missing people's cases all the time. You know, teen runaways, things of that nature. And because of that, a gentleman came in when his daughter went missing.

And he got no response from the police department. He got no response from a lot of other communities. leaders. So he sought us out for help. He was passing out flyers, knocking on doors, and he was coming to his end of, I don't know who to turn to when we were recommended to him, the Justice and Dignity Center for help. As we were looking for his child, knocking doors, interviewing people, we started hearing about now, we, We haven't seen her, but we heard about this other young lady missing. And it just kept snowballing.

As we're looking for one, we're starting to hear about other people missing, other young ladies missing in the same area, about the same time. And then we're hearing about ones being found dead that never got reported, you know, to authorities. or should I say the authorities never said anything about it. A store owner came up and gets told his point blank as we were passing out the flyers. He said, I know of two women that were found near my gas station within the last two weeks.

Never made the news. Never made the news. One was found in the field. Never made the news. One was found in the field. One was found in a vacant lot kind of a field. And that never made the news. Never just got dismissed.

Wow. There's a lot of time points. They're dismissed them as, well, is just a homeless person that passed away? You know, it's too many areas that they look at to shape the truth or to escape the truth and not look at it. So they come up with excuses. Well, no one's reported them missing, but the parents are saying they're missing. That's enough.

You know, I don't, you don't have to report me missing, but if I am being reported missing, come look for me. When was the last time point that you even hear about authorities going looking for someone missing? I have not heard of a search party. It might be a small kid in not in the inner city that they will look for

but even a small child on the inner city they won't look for. Precious dough. One of the biggest cases here in Kansas City, the community had to come together and go looking for that child. The community did that. Not the police department, but the community.

And we hear all the time, and I want to share this. We hear all the time that it's missing white women that make the news and missing black women, missing women of color or people of color do not. And I want to say that this, that is true. And I want you to share anything you can tell us to help this, this very sad statistic. And I think your video and how you're dismissed, I think is an important example. of this. And I want our channel to be able to listen and to understand it and let us know how we can

help and be more aware. We went to, we had a community meeting every Monday at the Justice Center at 6 o'clock. We have a community meeting with all the community leaders and the grassroots organizations come together and we share information. And we try to get some of that information over to the police department that they might need. One of the things that came up in last week's meeting was, were all the homeless. If you notice, it used to be quite a bit of them throughout the city and the inner city.

We don't see them anymore. Where did they go? What has happened to them? Just like these young ladies, they used to be everywhere. where did they go? It's almost like they're just being literally taken away and done something too. And in this case, we found out it to be true.

You know, no one wakes up in the morning and says, I want to be homeless. No one wakes up in the morning and says, I want to be kidnapped. No one wakes up in the morning and says, I want to be tortured. No one wakes up in the morning and say, I want to be murdered. But these things are happening on the inner city, and they're just being dismissed. missed, left and right. And any time that we speak about them, I was told that I should be quiet. Because I can't say certain things because it is football season and it will affect the tourism.

we say certain things. When did a life become less important than the bottom line? So going back to October 7th, two weeks after Tony Caldwell posted his concerns, T.J. allegedly told police and others that she was able to escape when she heard Timothy leave the house to drop his young son off at school. Now, more on this later. T.J. managed to slip her arms out of the chains pull a keypad off the wall and unlock the basement door,

allowing her to save herself and run to the neighbors for help. EMS officers on the scene removed the collar from her neck, and they also noticed injuries on her back that are consistent with having been whipped. T.J. was able to point out the home where she said she had been held captive as she was being taken to the hospital. She was treated and later released.

The home that she was being held hostage, raped and tortured, at for over a month, was 301 Old Orchard Street in Excelsior Springs, and police began investigating the house immediately and the person living there. 39-year-old Timothy Hazlett, Jr. As first responders helped T.J. And transported her to the hospital,

officers set up surveillance and waited for Timothy to arrive home. Not for an hour after that initial 911 call did Timothy arrive back home in a gray Dodge ram pickup. Officers conducted a felony traffic stop and took Timothy in. to custody on an unrelated animal control violation. And now, an hour is a long time to be gone for just dropping a child off at a nearby elementary school. And so we did some investigating. Hidden True Crime has learned through reliable sources that despite what Timothy told TJ,

he was actually not dropping his son off. Someone else took his child to school that morning. Instead, it looks as if the unemployed Timothy Haslett Jr. was headed to a job interview. and when he was arrested, he actually had a vial of urine strapped around his upper leg and hidden under his clothing, so most likely to use for a drug test that he had to take. We also know that the reason he actually came back to his residence is that his dog was outside running around, which it makes sense that his dog escaped when T.J. did. And that was how police were able to make a quick arrest on the animal control violation. Something horrible happened in Excelsior Springs,

and that horrible let itself out into the neighborhood. Accusations that a man was holding at least one woman in a torture chamber in his basement. And when she got free, she ran to the neighbors. I said that neighbor is Lisa Johnson, and she was joining us for her very first television interview. We're having a problem with her connection right now. We're still working on it. And also with me is Lauren Matthias, who is the host of the Hidden True Crime Podcast, who has been working on this story,

as well. So while we're working on Lisa's connection, Lauren, tell me a little bit about the condition that this woman was in when she showed up at that neighbor's door. Absolutely, absolutely. And Lisa was so wonderful. The woman ran to Lisa, and Lisa called 911, and then the woman actually went to Sierra Tharp's home. I interviewed Sierra Tharp, and Sierra Tharp told me that the woman came to her door. She had duct tape around her neck. She was wearing a dog collar with a padlock on her neck that she couldn't get off. The police actually had to get that off. That she was emaciated. She was starving. She was wearing latex and a trash bag. Was hardly wearing anything that Sierra's grandmother gave her a blanket as well as muffins that

she just devoured while they waited for police to arrive to help. I know that some of the details say that Lisa, you know, did a quick scan and thought she looked to be about 70 pounds and that she also looked as though she was dehyde. and she could barely whisper. She said it was extremely soft when she said, help me. But just clear up for me. Lisa Johnson is the first neighbor who encounters this woman on her doorstep. And as I understand it, she said, I'm going to call 911 right away.

And that terrified this woman who said he'll kill us. He'll kill us all if you do that. And then she ran to another neighbor? That is what Lisa has said. But according to Sierra Tharp, when she arrived, at her door, she said, help me, help me call 911, which they then did. He's going to kill me. He's going to kill me. And then she actually also said, my other friends didn't make it. They were murdered. And this is according to Sierra Tharp in an interview with me the day after they rescued her.

They took her in. And the reason she was whispering, Lisa is absolutely right, because she had ligature marks on her neck. And police could not get the call. her off until they unlocked it and it was restricting her breathing it was that hot it was that tight yeah and she had apparent physical injuries all over her back where the probable cause actually states that she was whipped while in this torture chamber homemade torture chamber and i think that's one of the descriptions that that the latex that she was wearing had cuts in it and that the you know witness described saying she had no idea how you could make those cuts. They didn't come from being hit. They were lashes, open wounds on her arm. Is it assumed that the lashes were from the

whippings or were there other injuries as well from other forms of torture? According to the probable... Most people don't realize how much their personal information is being bought and sold every day. Data brokers are making billions, pulling details about you from public records and the internet, and then packaging and selling it, usually without your consent. That's how your information lands in the hands of scammers, spammers, even stalkers. It's why you get endless robocalls and why ads seem to follow you everywhere. That's where ORA comes in. ORA actively removes your data from broker sites and keeps it off. They also instantly alert you if your information shows up in a breach or on the dark web. But ORA goes beyond data protection.

With one app, you get a VPN, antivirus, password manager, spam call protection, dark web monitoring and even up to $5 million in identity theft insurance, all backed by 24-7 U.S.-based fraud support. Other companies might sell just credit monitoring or just a VPN. ORA gives you all of it, together, at the same price competitors charge for just one service. Start your free trial today at Aura.com slash remove. Protect yourself now at aura.com slash remove. Because she said that she had been whipped several times and they could see the marks all over her

body. And then they did state in the probable cause. She was indeed whipped. She had explained that she had been raped multiple times, being in she was clearly starved, according to Lisa's account that she was perhaps 70 pounds. This is a 22-year-old woman. So that's shocking to hear that Lisa thought that she looked about 70 pounds and that she did devour. I mean, think about that too, devouring muffins while having your, you know, restricted breathing. She was that hungry because she said that she had been taken at the beginning of September. Oh. So she also mentioned that two of her friends had been killed by this man.

Timothy Hazlett is her accusation. So curious about the police activity at the home and what they've found, because they have not said, to my knowledge, that they've discovered human remains of these two other young women. Right. They have not said that they have found evidence of other victims. but they haven't said that they have not found evidence of other victims. And what's fascinating is that two weeks before this woman was that this woman escaped her captor,

Timothy Haslett Jr. Bishop Tony Caldwell from the Kansas City metro area went on TikTok and said, there is a serial killer targeting black women in our neighborhood. The Kansas City Defender shared that information and other local papers as well as the Kansas City police shot that down so quickly. They said this is absolutely unfounded. Two weeks later, this woman, she was a black woman. She escaped this house, this basement dungeon that he had made for the probable cause says he made this basement bedroom or basement, yeah, basement bedroom where she was kept. And she stated to Sierra Tharp, my other friends didn't make it.

And then police, as well as the FBI and other agencies were at this property with cadaver dogs and multiple people for three days. They concluded their investigation by putting that chain link fence around the house that you see there that's put up by the city that wasn't there before, as well as boarded up his entire residence. They have not stated, oh, go ahead. I was going to ask you, Lauren, about, I think I read that there might have been some blue barrels that were at this residence that are no longer at this residence. Do you know anything about that? Yes. Yes, there were probably about a dozen blue barrels that you could see them taking out of the yard and out of the house. And I'll say, I don't know if there were any in the house, but during the search, you could see several outside of the house.

And there's actually video of a cadaver dog hitting on one of those blue barrels. They haven't shared what is in those blue barrels. We don't know, but it's very peculiar. And Home Depot employees in Excelsior Springs did state that he came in often. Timothy Haslett came in often. He was not employed at this time. He hadn't been working for about three years, but he was a frequent visitor at Home Depot.

He had these blue barrels. And then he also worked on cars. And neighbors reported many tow truck visits to the house as well. And then they also reported that he was a recluse who never opened his garage all the way. I have to leave it there. Does anyone else find themselves saying, feel way older than I actually am or I feel way younger. Did you know there might be some truth

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After Timothy was arrested, police quickly began searching the home. And this was not just a basic search. We are talking days of searching, three days into the night and morning hours. Cadaver dogs were brought in, and neighbors watched as, dozens of bags of evidence were removed from the house. Police recovered numerous items, such as computers, external hard drives, cell phones, and cameras. An unsecured handgun with a hammer back and a round in the chamber was also recovered from the living room couch. Among the several items of evidence collected was a piece of paper that contained handwritten questions and answers

that appeared to have been questioned Timothy asked T.J., followed by T.J.'s answers, a pink and red tutu, a black gas mask, and multiple large blue barrels were also located. The dungeon inside Timothy's house was outfitted with two interior security cameras in addition to a security camera that was located outside of the room and positioned towards a shower. The cameras appeared to operate wirelessly, but a hard drive or other type of storage system was not located for the cameras. The cameras contained ports for SD cards, but And none of the cameras were found to contain one. The only door to this room was secured by magnetic locks, similar to what would have been

inside of a business and an interior electronic keypad. And not only that, but a confidential informant came to the police and said that Timothy specifically had this room built in 2021. We have also heard from sources here at Hidden True Crime telling us about the room being built inside his garage in 2021. and we have heard that Timothy was a frequent shopper, a customer at his local Home Depot. Timothy's cell phone that was on him when he was arrested was seized and later searched. There were several photos of the inside of this room, some of which separately depicted T.J., another

unknown female and Timothy. Based on this angle view of the photos, police believe that the photos were captured by the cameras mounted to the ceiling of the dungeon. video footage from News Chopper 9 captured police going through trash bags outside the house in search of evidence, and that in footage, there are, again, those blue barrels. One news camera even seemed to show a cadaver dog hitting on one of those blue barrels sitting on the property, tapping the barrel with its paw as the dog was led around the property by law enforcement. Now, after police finally finished searching, after days, in a very unusual move,

They fenced off the area surrounding the home. It was a rental home, and they boarded up all of its doors and windows. Even though Timothy was initially arrested on that unrelated animal control charge, Timothy was later charged with first-degree rape, first-degree kidnapping, and second-degree assault. He pleaded not guilty. After the news of the victim who escaped a literal house of horrors, and the arrest of Timothy broke,

Internet sleuth were quick to find that in 2014 and 2020, Timothy, who is white, posted comments on Facebook advocating for the return of severe punishments for criminals, including chain gangs, and that he expressed support for racist, oppressive policing of black people. The Kansas City defender that I mentioned published many of Timothy Hazlitz alleged social media rants about race, calling him a white supremacist, and that Timothy believed. that we were in a race war. In one of those posts, Timothy says that he wants black people to, quote, stop blaming people like me who have never done a single thing to oppress them, end quote. And in that same post, Timothy allegedly writes that only when they act like equals, is he willing to treat black people as his equal. Now, I've spoke to people privately who know Timothy on and off camera,

and they have also called him a racist who dislikes black people. As for Timothy, other than court appearances, he's remained relatively quiet while in custody, but a family court issue revealed a whole lot more in November of 2022. Sarah Plake, a reporter with the local NBC affiliate KSHB, obtained a letter where Timothy Haslett Jr. addressed the allegations against him. The letter was actually found in a filing that had nothing to do with the rape and kidnapping case. Instead, this was a family court issue. Timothy's ex-wife had gone to court asking for a temporary restraining order and to get full custody of their young child after his arrest.

Now, this makes complete sense. It's the first thing I think most mothers would do. And Timothy responded, though, in an eight-page handwritten letter. In that letter, Timothy said, quote, while I understand the allegations are serious, they are nothing more than that. End quote. The police remained tight-lipped on the investigation in the immediate after. aftermath of Timothy's arrest. But then on January 11, 2023, police asked the public for help in finding Janie Crosdale. They didn't call her a victim, but they refer to Janie as a possible witness. Someone police said that they believed could have important information related to

Timothy's ongoing criminal case. In fact, they wanted to talk to Janie so much that they put up a giant billboard on a main freeway asking for anyone who had seen Janie to contact police because there was one major problem. Nobody knew where Janie was. Have you noticed this billboard across the Kansas City metro the past couple of weeks? Drive along the highway across Kansas City and 36-year-old Jenny Crossdale's picture is clearly visible. We've spent a lot of time on this case. Excelsior Springs Police Chief Greg Dole says in the two-year-old. weeks since they've released Crossdale's picture to the public, they've received a few leads,

but still need more. They believe she is a witness in a case involving Tim Haslid Jr. Janie is also a black woman, 36 years old. And at the time, other than that brief statement from police about believing that she had information on Timothy's case, there wasn't much known about her. While Janie couldn't be found, she also was not reported as a missing person. And after the press conference, her sister came forward on social media, expressing deep concern and saying her family had not heard from Janie and that they were praying that she was still alive. A month later, on February 14, 2023, Clay County prosecuting attorney Zachary Thompson announced new charges against Timothy in a superseding indictment.

Thomason revealed that Timothy was now facing one count of first-degree rape, four counts of first-degree sodomy, one count of first degree, kidnapping two counts of second degree assault, and one count of first degree endangering the welfare of a child. Now, remember, news outlets first reported that T.J. escaped while Haslett was taking his young son to school. And even though we've debunked that, that that was where Timothy actually was and what he was doing when T.J. escaped, it is true that his young elementary-aged son was living with Timothy while TJ was being held in the basement. Timothy actually had full custody of his son at the time of his arrest. And remember, when police searched Timothy's home, they found a gun with a hammer pulled back and a bullet in the chamber

in the living room couch. Haslett pleaded not guilty to the upgraded charges. I'm seeing a trend. And that brings us back to July 31st, 2023. When authority, authorities announced that those two kayakers discovered a blue barrel containing human remains. Five days later, the remains were identified as Janies, but still, no murder charges. Crosdale had been missing for months. Excelsior Springs police say she and Timothy Hazlett had contact before she went missing. They were trying to find her to see what information she had on Haslett's current case. Now, Excelsior Springs police say Haslett could be a suspect in Crosdale's death.

Since she was found in a blue barrel, they're trying to match it to evidence pulled off of Haslett's property. The prosecutor says they're also on the lookout for more barrels. Authority said they were working to confirm if the type of barrel she was found in was the same type found on Haslett's property, as well as any other evidence they could connect to her death and to Haslett. Also, they wanted to know how did Janie die? One week after Janie's remains were found, the Clay County prosecutor announced, quote, If you are around the Missouri River, if you see a barrel, particularly a blue barrel, contact law enforcement, end quote. So was all of this connected? Was there a serial killer targeting black women?

We would have to wait almost another full year to find out more information. Just this month, on Tuesday, July 9th, 2024, while I was live in Santa Fe, New Mexico covering jury selection for the Alec Baldwin trial, while Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson announced a major press conference. But today, Clay County had a very big press conference just now, just now. I'm here in the NAFA reporting on another case. But yet here I am telling you what happened. Clay County just reported that Timothy Haslett has now been indicted with first-degree murder. Hazlitt, who was already facing nine felony counts related to the alleged weekly

long captivity and torture of 22-year-old T.J. in 2022 was now indicted by a grand jury and charged with homicide, the homicide of 36-year-old Janie Crosdale of Kansas City. Zachary Thompson said during the press conference, quote, today's indictment represents the next step in our pursuit of justice for the victims, the families, and our community, end quote. Timothy, here we go. Are you ready for has pleaded not guilty. Surprise. According to the probable cause, prosecutors believe Janie Crosdale died, quote, by an act of homicidal violence, end quote, sometime between June 6th, 2022, and October 7, 2022. A post-mortem examination indicated Janie had been shot with high impact wounds and at least one bullet hole in the barrel where her remains were found. The report further

stated that both perimortem high-velocity projectile trauma and perimordom blunt-force trauma were observed to the remains. Quote, these injuries are classified as perimortem due to the lack of gross or microscopic evidence of healing, as well as pattern of fracture and the presence of plastic deformation. There are two defects on the lower spine, T-1 through L-1, consistent with perimortem high-velocity projectile trauma. These defects are the result of a single event. However, differentiation between entry and exit cannot be determined. There is perimortem blood force trauma to the lower right leg with a lateral and medial direction of impact." End quote. Through their investigation, authorities found a still

image from inside his basement. An SD card also contained information related to individuals associated with Janie. And the blue barrels containing her remains did match the type of blue barrels found at Timothy's house. In the probable cause affidavit, investigators referenced Timothy's cell phone. The phone had over 100,000 photos and videos. Many of the photos and videos appeared to be saved screenshots from pornographic websites and showed females being choked, gagged, wearing gas masks, wearing different types of restraints, and or in otherwise aggressive, submissive situations.

The phone also contained saved images of Missouri River navigation maps. Investigators believe Janie, who had a history of sex work, came into contact with Hazlett through this activity. Prosecutor Thompson stressed that everyone deserves equal protection under the law, no matter who they are and no matter their race. Janie's family described the charges as bittersweet, saying, what happened to her was unfair. she was taken from her loved ones way too soon. As far as a serial killer, targeting young black women,

right now this is the only murderer that authorities are aware of in connection to Timothy Haslett Jr. But as online racial comments on social media towards black people, and certainly the crimes he's been charged with are enough to make us continue to wonder, are there more victims? In T.J.'s statement, she said that Haslett threatened to put her in a blue barrel, like the,

others. She also recalled that he said one woman was suffocated with a gas mask and the other was electrocuted. We don't know exactly how Janie died, but the post-mortem exam indicated she had been shot. While hidden true crime has been following this case since T.J. made her heroic escape running to Sierra Tharp's home, a daring feat that most likely saved her life and perhaps others' lives, many in the true crime community have been skeptical as we continue to report and gather facts over the past year and a half. Many have doubted Pastor Tony Caldwell's remarks. He's a controversial figure we've learned in the Kansas City community and others doubted that other women beyond T.J. had fallen victim to Timothy Hazlitt, Jr. And many have been skeptical. Race played any significant role. But evidence continues to do what it always does. Shines light on the truth. The ghastly details. The horrors. horrific acts of humanity and the absolute heartache of innocent victims and their families.

Questions still linger. There is so much that remains hidden. The investigation continues into Timothy Hazlitt's crimes, his motives, and the possibility of other victims. And while we wait for more evidence, it's a case that reminds us of a systematic failure in the coverage of true crime that media often focuses on missing white women and children, despite more than a third of all missing women and children being black. We are reminded that not all missing people are reported missing, that it's not always so easy to file a missing person's report, not so simple, especially if the missing person is an adult or goes by a nickname or has recently changed their address. We are reminded that sex workers or those in professions judged more harshly by society might be overlooked. And we

are reminded that it is important to listen, no matter who and what people may believe, Stay open. Listen. Hidden True Crime will continue following the story. This isn't the last you'll hear of Timothy Haslett, Jr. And if you want to delve deeper right now, we recommend our full Timothy Haslett playlist on YouTube, and we will be posting some of those full interviews from the last two years on our podcast very soon. Make sure you're subscribed right here. As for those in the Kansas City area, please remember and please keep an eye out. Clay County Prosecutor is telling anyone along the Missouri River, if you spot a barrel, alert authorities. I don't want to speculate about what that could mean for the case, but if you are around the Missouri River, to please, if you see a barrel, contact law enforcement. Most people don't realize how much their personal information is being bought and sold every day. Data brokers are making billions, pulling details about you from public records and the Internet, and then packaging and selling it, usually without your consent.

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