A 22-year-old Black woman in Kansas City reportedly escaped a white serial killer after he allegedly kidnapped her, among other things. And the all-white Excelsior Springs Police Department failed the young woman after ignoring an insightful tip on where many Black women in Kansas were being kidnapped.
The victim is under the name T.J. in court documents. The suspect is a 39-year-old white man named Timothy Haslett Jr.
Excelsior Citizen reported T.J. was discovered around 7:47 a.m. on Oct. 7, after police received reports about a woman going around banging on doors, pleading for help. A woman then opened her door to the victim, providing her with a blanket and food. The woman was Ciara Tharp’s grandmother.
“She made the comment about her friends,” Tharp explained. “That they didn’t make it and that he had killed them. 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.”
T.J. told investigators that Haslett held her captive in a small room in the basement that he had made. She was restrained by her ankles and wrists with handcuffs and “whipped” on her back. Furthermore, Haslett sexually assaulted T.J. while she was held up in the basement. According to court documents, T.J escaped once Haslett left to drop his child off at school. Haslett murdered T.J.’s friends before her escape.
“Upon the [police] officer’s arrival at the residence, they found T.J.,” court documents read. “She was wearing latex lingerie and had a metal collar around her neck with a padlock and duct tape around her neck. T.J. advised that a man by the name of Timothy picked her up on Prospect in Kansas City at the beginning of September 2022.”
Many, especially in the Black community, are upset, considering the police were informed that the murdered and missing Black girls were taken from Prospect Avenue in Kansas City. Police dismissed those claims as “completely unfounded rumors.”
One citizen who tried to help the police in the investigation was Bishop Tony Caldwell. He gave law enforcement information about Prospect Avenue and other things in hopes of them finding the missing girls and stopping the serial killer.
“At first, the police said there was no evidence of a serial killer or any young ladies missing,” Caldwell told Kansas City Defender. “We get a lot of information because we’re right on the street level. A lot of times, we are even trying to give the police information so they can act on it, because the people in the street don’t trust them, and now we can see that’s rightfully so.”
While it’s understandable that the police may not have had tangible evidence that the women were being taken from Prospect Avenue, there have been previous reports about murdered women and Prospect Avenue. Serial killer Terry Blair murdered several women and dumped their bodies near Prospect Avenue, where many women have reportedly been raped and assaulted. Also, many murders were linked to that area for over 20 years.
KSHB reported that call logs show the police went to Haslett’s house for well-being checks. The first call was from his dad, who lived out of state. The second was from his job because they didn’t know why he wasn’t showing up to work. The third call was about an off-leash dog.
The investigation is ongoing, and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office stated that they couldn’t give out much information while it remains ongoing.
Haslett’s facing first-degree rape, first-degree kidnapping and second-dree assault charges.
