Missouri police, who allegedly dismissed claims about a series of Black women being abducted, are facing backlash after one of the women escaped from a basement where she was being held captive.
According to ABC News, the 22-year-old woman escaped from the home of 39-year-old Timothy M. Haslett in Excelsior Springs, Missouri.
The dramatic escape comes a few weeks after The Kansas City Defender, a nonprofit media startup, posted a TikTok video to alert the public about Haslett. The media group alleged that a serial killer had been targeting young Black girls, The Kansas City Star reports.
According to the video, four girls were recently killed in the area, and three went missing.
Police, who initially dismissed the report, arrested Haslett on Oct. 7 after one woman escaped and fled his home.
When referencing the reports of Black women being targeted, Kansas City Police Department spokesperson Donna Drake initially said there was “no basis to support this rumor,” and the police department described the reports as “completely unfounded,” the Kansas City Star reported at the time.
The 22-year-old woman fled Haslett’s home and showed up at a neighbor’s door wearing lingerie, a metal collar with a padlock, and duct tape around her neck.
“It was readily apparent that she had been held against her will for a significant time,” Excelsior Springs Police Lt. Ryan Dowdy told reporters during a news conference on Oct. 7, KMBC reports.
Speaking to investigators, the woman said Haslett picked her up on the street in September and kept her in a small room that he built within a basement.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the 39-year-old allegedly kept her restrained by her feet and ankles and whipped her repeatedly.
The woman, who was treated at the hospital after escaping, said she fled when Haslett went to take his child to school. When she arrived at a neighbor’s house, the woman said Haslett allegedly killed other women who were also being held hostage on the premises.
A Kansas City Police Department spokesperson said police haven’t received reports of missing persons in the area.
“In order to begin a missing person’s investigation, someone would need to file a report with our department identifying the missing party,” the spokesperson told ABC News. “Again, we notify the media/public anytime our department responds to a homicide in our city and none match, or have been reported to what has been described.”
Haslett has entered a not guilty plea after being charged with first-degree rape or attempted rape, first-degree kidnapping and second-degree assault. Officers searched his home and found a small room in the basement, similar to what the woman described.
The 39-year-old is being held on a $500,000 bond.
