Trial for accused killer, rapist Timothy Haslett pushed back another year

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Accused killer, rapist Timothy Haslett and his attorney appeared in Clay County court for a pre-trial conference on Friday.

Haslett's trial was scheduled to start on Oct. 26, but "for good cause shown," the trial will now take place nearly a year from now in August 2027.

The original trial for Haslett was set for December 2025.

KSHB 41 News reached out to the county and to Presiding Judge Shane Alexander's office to find out what the "good cause" is.

A court document filed in the case said "both the State and the Defense need additional time to complete discovery in
this case."

TIMELINE | Case of accused Excelsior Springs murderer, rapist, kidnapper Timothy Haslett Jr.

Haslett was arrested and charged in October 2022 after a young woman escaped his house on Old Orchard St in Excelsior Springs. The woman ran down the street screaming for help.

The woman told police she had been kidnapped, repeatedly assaulted and held against her will in a room Haslett built in his basement.

She said she was able to escape when Haslett took his child to school. She beat on doors until a neighbor down the street took her in.

Haslett is also accused of murdering a woman named Jaynie Crosdale. Her remains were found in a blue barrel in 2023 along the Missouri River.

Investigators originally wanted to talk to Crosdale because they said she may have information in the Haslett case.

Police said they believe Haslett and Crosdale met through "commercial sex work."

The other young woman, identified publicly only by the last name "Jones," escaped Haslett's handmade dungeon and also is believed to have crossed paths with Haslett in the same way.

In 2024, prosecutors obtained "Jones'" testimony on video because she is still living on the streets and battling substance abuse issues.

Prosecutors said she is a "necessary and essential witness for the state," and her "testimony establishes elements of the felonies that cannot be proven in any other manner."

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