KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Three days after being charged with nine felonies in a new superseding indictment, accused Excelsior Springs kidnapper and rapist Timothy Haslett pleaded not guilty Friday in Clay County Circuit Court.
Haslett appeared for his arraignment, which only took about three minutes, in a striped gray jail jumpsuit. He was cuffed alongside his public defender.
Before entering his not guilty plea, Haslett rocked back and forth in his chair inside Judge David Paul Chamberlain’s courtroom.
Haslett’s next court appearance is scheduled for March 22.
Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson announced Tuesday that a grand jury had indicted Haslett on one count of first-degree rape, four counts of first-degree sodomy, one count of first-degree kidnapping, two counts of second-degree assault, and one count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
Excelsior Springs police responded to Haslett’s residence in the 300 block of Old Orchard Street on Oct. 7 after a woman knocked on neighbors’ doors, claiming to have escaped captivity in Haslett’s basement.
He was initially charged with first-degree rape, first-degree kidnapping and second-degree assault, but those charges were replaced by the new nine-count indictment earlier in the week.
Thompson credited the “bravery” of the 22-year-old woman who allegedly had been repeatedly beaten and sexually assaulted after she was picked up along Independence Avenue in early September for the prosecution’s case.
Haslett is being held on a $3 million bond.
The investigation remains ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact the Excelsior Springs Police Department or call the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).
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For jurisdictions that utilize the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline, anonymous tips can be made by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com.
Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.
