CLAY COUNTY, Mo. — A 41-year-old former Vernon man accused of kidnapping and holding a woman as a sex slave in his Missouri basement is now being investigated as possibly being involved in the murder of another woman police had previously identified as a possible witness in the ongoing criminal investigation him.

Timothy Hasslett stands accused of kidnapping and repeatedly sexually assaulting a woman he had chained and locked in the basement of his Excelsior Springs home for several weeks.

The woman was found on the morning of October 7, 2022, when she went to a neighbor’s house asking for help.

A probable cause statement says she was able to escape when the suspect took his child to school. Police say they’re trying to determine if there have been other victims.

The woman was reportedly found wearing a tight metal collar around her neck and repeatedly told a rescuer Haslett had killed her friends.

Excelsior Springs police had identified Jayne Crosdale as a potential witness in Haslett’s case in January and asked for the public’s help finding her. Authorities said at the time that they believed Crosdale had “information about the investigation.”

Then over the summer, two kayakers on the Missouri River discovered a blue barrel similar to ones seen on Haslett’s property following his arrest.

When the kayakers looked inside the barrel they discovered the remains of a woman later identified as Jayne Crosdale.

Haslett has not been charged at this time in connection with Crosdale’s death, but he is due in a Clay County Missouri courtroom Monday for a hearing in the kidnapping case.