Missouri police arrest murderer who targeted Black women after calling the claims ‘unfounded’

A 22-year-old Black woman on Oct. 7 escaped from the basement of a 39-year-old white male who allegedly sexually assaulted her and murdered her friends — weeks after the Kansas City Police Department dismissed initial reports of the kidnappings as “completely unfounded.”

Missouri man Timothy Haslett Jr., who is white, was charged with first-degree rape, first-degree kidnapping, and second-degree assault on Oct. 7, according to the Excelsior Citizen.

According to the Kansas City Defender, a Black woman identified in court documents as “T.J.” was discovered that day after Excelsior Springs police received reports of banging on doors and screams for help heard in Halsett’s basement.

Clay County Court documents recounting T.J.’s report allege that Halsett kept her “in a small room in the basement that he had built. He kept her restrained in handcuffs on her wrists and ankles.” In addition, Haslett “whipped her while she was restrained…there were injuries on her back that were consistent with this description.” 

The documents report that T.J. “was able to get free when he left to take his child to school,” and that “upon the [police] officer’s arrival at the residence, they found T.J. She was wearing latex lingerie and had a metal collar around her neck with a padlock, and duct tape around her neck. T.J. advised that a man by the name of Timothy picked her up on Prospect in Kansas City at the beginning of September 2022.”

Per the outlet, a cross-county investigation into the case is underway following the rescue — but reports of murdered and missing Black women in the area first surfaced from many Black residents earlier in September.

Tony Caldwell, a local Kansas City bishop, addressed the issue in a video published by the Defender in mid-to-late September. In the video, Caldwell says the missing women seem to be being kidnapped near the city’s Prospect Avenue.

In response to the claims from Kansas City’s Black community, KCPD released a statement calling the reports “completely unfounded rumors,” which led multiple news outlets to run stories dismissive of the community testimonies, per the Defender.

Following the charges filed against Halsett, Caldwell told the outlet: “That was the description of the guy we were talking about and that was the location we said they were being taken from. That’s exactly what we were telling people.”

Per the Citizen, local resident Ciara Tharp welcomed T.J. into her home following the rescue, providing food and warmth with the help of Tharp’s grandmother.

“She made the comment about her friends. That they didn’t make it and that he had killed them,” Tharp told the Defender. “I’m really hoping that they find evidence about her friends.”

In response to the newly uncovered evidence contrary to KCPD’s earlier statements, the department defended dismissing residents’ claims.

“We base our investigations on police incident reports of criminal activity. We do still maintain that there is no indication that what you guys reported was accurate and there was no indication that there was anything that supported that claim,” KCPD told the outlet.

“We share what information we can publicly, many times from the scene, of incidents of violent crimes when there is a report or an investigation underway, there had and has not been anything that corresponded to your reports on social media and the web which is why we refuted that report and said that the claims were unfounded,” KCPD added.

Per the Citizen, the ongoing investigation into the potential series of kidnappings and assaults at the hands of Halsett is expected to take “days, possibly weeks to complete.”

Caldwell told the Defender: “I’m just sorry that it took so long, but I’m grateful that she found a way out. I’m sorry people didn’t act on it sooner, and it’s absolutely tragic that the other young ladies didn’t make it. It’s horrible.”

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. Please download theGrio mobile apps today!