Not guilty plea entered for Timothy Haslett Jr., charged in Excelsior Springs investigation

CLAY COUNTY, Mo (KCTV) - A judge entered a not guilty plea Tuesday for a man charged with holding a woman against her will and sexually assaulting her before she escaped and ran to neighbors for help.

Timothy Haslett Jr. is charged with rape, kidnapping and second-degree assault after the woman told police Friday, she was held hostage since September inside of Haslett Jr.’s Excelsior Springs home. Haslett Jr. told the judge he plans to apply for a public defender to represent him in the case.

Court records filed Tuesday detail a days-long investigation that began after the woman ran to neighbors for help around 7:47AM Friday October 7th. She told neighbors and police she escaped when Haslett Jr. left the home with his son.

The woman reported to investigators a man named Timothy picked her up on Prospect in Kansas City in September and held her hostage in a small room in his basement. Neighbors who helped the woman by calling 911 and sheltering her until police arrived previously told KCTV5 News she had obvious injuries and was terrified. Ciara Tharp says her grandmother gave the woman food and a blanket and brought her inside Tharp’s home.

“She said she was very hungry and my grandma could tell she was weak. She didn’t have a whole lot of clothes on,” Tharp previously told KCTV5 News. “She said that she had a metal dog collar around her neck, and she could see the ligature marks on her wrists.” The woman told investigators she was kept restrained by handcuffs on her wrists and ankles.

According to court documents, first responders had to remove a padlock from a metal collar around the 22-year-old woman’s neck because it was restricting her breathing. The woman told police “Timothy” kept her in a small room in the basement that he had built and that he had assaulted and raped her on multiple occasions. Police observed injuries on her body.

ALSO READ: Court docs: Excelsior Springs victim escaped basement while duct-taped, wearing metal collar

She told investigators she could show them where she was held hostage. As the ambulance she was inside Friday drove by, investigators say she pointed to the home where Haslett Jr. lived off Old Orchard Avenue in Excelsior Springs. She had run to nearby Don Shelton Boulevard to bang on neighbors’ doors for help.

When investigators searched the home where Haslett Jr. lived, they say they found a room in the basement consistent with what the woman had described. Law enforcement brought a cadaver dog Friday to the property but have not released any results of the canine search.

On Monday, crews boarded up windows and put a fence around the home after investigators executed a search warrant at the property for several days.

Neighbors previously said they are concerned about the possibility of other victims. “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. I just hope they can find everything they need to.”

Police are examining evidence recovered from the home to investigate if other crimes were committed. According to an application for a search warrant, investigators asked the court to seize a 10 x 10 x 16 inch safe and its contents, any evidence related to illegal sexual acts and felonious restraint including ropes, restraints, whips, handguns, and other weapons.

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

Investigators also searched for any trace evidence including fingerprints, swabs for DNA, hair, fibers, apparent blood or bodily fluids and any item with apparent blood or bodily fluids, surveillance video and any video or digital media storage or storage devices.

Haslett Jr. is scheduled to appear in court next week for a bond hearing for the rape, kidnapping and second-degree assault charges.

He entered a guilty plea Tuesday in a separate August 2021 case involving a careless and imprudent driving charge involving an accident. During discussion about the careless driving case, he told the judge he failed to appear in court on several occasions because he was out of town for work, and he was hospitalized for an infection.

Stay with KCTV5 News for updates on this developing investigation.

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