Excelsior Springs home boarded up, fenced in as investigation continues

EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, Mo. (KCTV) - Investigators examined items Monday recovered from a home where a woman told police she escaped after being held captive and sexually assaulted.

Timothy Haslett Jr., who lives at the home, has been charged with first-degree rape, first-degree kidnapping, and second-degree assault.

Crews boarded up the windows of the home and placed fencing around the property off Old Orchard Avenue near Don Shelton Boulevard.

Neighbors are waiting for answers as police examine numerous items taken from the home during the execution of a search warrant.

The investigation began on Friday morning around 7:45 a.m. when several neighbors heard a woman’s pleas for help.

“She said once he left, she just flung that door open, let his dog out, and she took off,” Ciara Tharp said. “She said she was tied up in a basement.”

Tharp’s grandmother opened the door at Tharp’s home for the woman who had visible marks on her body and a collar around her neck.

“She said her heart told her to let her in. She brought her in, and she wrapped her in a blanket that was sitting on the couch and grabbed her some food and water because she said she was pretty hungry,” Tharp said.

The woman reported she had been held against her will since September inside the home where Haslett Jr. lived. Police are investigating information the woman reported about the possibility of additional victims or other crimes committed.

“She made the comment about her friends that they didn’t make it and that he had killed them,” Tharp said. “I’m really hoping that they find evidence about her friends. If anything, she can have closure about her friends and know that if something did happen, if she witnessed something with her friends, that they can figure it out. That way she can have closure and know that her friends had justice too.”

Many people who live in the community hope more answers will come once the investigation is complete.

“We just need to know more information,” neighbor Timothy Grover said. “I just hope she’s safe and with family.”

Excelsior Springs Police Department Chief of Police Gregory Dull thanked the community for their patience and support during the search warrant process.

“There is a possibility that my grandma probably got her just in time. Got her in the house just in time,” Tharp said. “We looked at it as we helped one woman and then when you think about it, she helped probably a lot of women.”

Stay with KCTV5 News for updates on this developing story.

Police: ‘Numerous items’ recovered from scene in Excelsior Springs, will be examined in upcoming week

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