7 August 2023
EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, Mo. — Excelsior Springs police have released new information after a potential witness in a local kidnapping case was found dead.
Officials said kayakers found a blue barrel on an island in the Missouri River in Saline County on June 24. Excelsior Springs Police Chief Greg Dull said the kayakers opened the barrel to find Jaynie Crosdale’s remains in “advanced decomposition.”
Excelsior Springs police previously identified Crosdale as a potential witness in the case against Timothy Haslett Jr.
Haslett was arrested and charged in October 2022 after someone called Excelsior Springs police. The caller reported an unidentified woman was going door-to-door, screaming for help.
When officers located the woman, she told police Haslett kidnapped and sexually assaulted her.
Court documents say she told investigators she escaped when Haslett left home to take his child to school. At the time, the woman said there were other victims, but police never found anyone else in the home.
After Haslett’s arrest, police started searching for Crosdale, saying she might have information that could help them in their investigation. Dull said police believe Haslett had contact with Crosdale before he was arrested.
Details about Crosdale’s cause of death or when she died have not been released.
Dull wouldn’t comment on whether the barrel Crosdale was found in was similar to the barrels found on Haslett’s property in Excelsior Springs.
When asked about evidence linking Haslett to Crosdale’s death, Dull said DNA evidence takes time to examine.
“We’re trying to investigate any connections there might be,” Dull said.
However, after Crosdale’s body was identified, Clay County prosecutors filed a motion to increase Haslett’s bond on his existing case.
A spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office said they requested the bond increase because of new details in the case that create a greater concern for the community’s safety if Haslett were released.
Prosecutors presented evidence that Crosdale was inside Haslett’s home before he was arrested.
However, a judge ruled that Haslett’s $3 million bond was sufficient and will stay in place.
“I think $3 million is an excessive bond for any case. He’s a public defender client,” Haslett’s attorney Tiffany Luety Winningham said. “There’s no way he’s ever going to post $3 million in cash.”
The Clay County Prosecutor’s Office said prosecutors will accompany the Missouri State Highway Patrol on Tuesday as they continue to search the Missouri River for more evidence.
Crosdale’s family believes she wasn’t just a witness — but a victim. In a statement to FOX4, her family said:
“We are deeply saddened at this horrific news. We are however relieved that we finally get to have a proper burial for her. She was truly loved and will be missed.”
And for now, Dull said Excelsior Springs have no leads on other potential victims, and no other known missing person cases are tied to Haslett’s.
The police chief would not speculate on whether or not police believe Haslett has ever allegedly done this before.
Dull said he only knew of a few other calls for service at Haslett’s address. Two were welfare checks; one of those came from Haslett’s employer, Dull said, and the other was from a family member. Both were concerned when they hadn’t heard from Haslett.
Haslett remains in custody in the Johnson County, Missouri, jail on a $3 million bond. His next court hearing is set for Oct. 9.