Human remains found in a barrel in the Missouri River were identified last week as those of a woman considered a potential witness in the case against a Missouri man accused of holding a Black woman hostage in his basement.
At a hearing Monday seeking a bond increase for Timothy Haslett Jr., who is white, prosecutors said the woman found in the barrel, Jaynie Crosdale, "was inside" Haslett's home in Excelsior Springs before he was arrested in October.
The Clay County Prosecutor's Office, which did not provide further details, said it presented the evidence to the court.
Excelsior Springs police had identified Crosdale as a potential witness in Haslett's case in January and asked for the public’s help in finding her. Authorities said at the time that they believed Crosdale had "information about the investigation."
She was later found dead after kayakers spotted her body in a blue barrel in the Missouri River, according to NBC affiliate KSNT of Topeka, Kansas. Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Immediately after police identified her remains last week, prosecutors filed a motion seeking a higher bond for Haslett, writing in a court filing that they had "concern for the safety of the community." Prosecutors said Haslett’s bond of $3 million was "insufficient to insure the safety of the community and the victim."
The court ruled against increasing Haslett's bond. His attorney did not immediately reply to a request for comment Tuesday.
Haslett was arrested in October after the 22-year-old unidentified victim escaped from his basement wearing a metal dog collar and ran to neighbors for help. The woman said she had been held captive and assaulted.
Lisa Johnson, a neighbor who helped the woman, said she was getting ready for work when she heard a faint "help me" from outside her front door.
"She looked straight at me and said 'help,'" Johnson has said.
Johnson said that the woman feared that Haslett would kill them both if the police were called but that she called authorities anyway.
"I understood where she was coming from at that point. But I did it anyway," she said.
Police said they found the woman wearing a metal collar with a padlock and latex lingerie, with duct tape around her mouth, according to a probable cause statement filed in October.
The woman said Haslett picked her up in early September and kept her in a small room in his basement, restraining her wrists and ankles with handcuffs, the document said. She said that she had been repeatedly raped and whipped and that she escaped when Haslett left to take his child to school, according to the probable cause document.
Haslett was indicted in February 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 endangering a child. He faces more than five life sentences if he is convicted.