Leigha Simonton, United States Attorney, Northern District of Texas | U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas
A truck driver has been convicted of kidnapping resulting in death, as announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham. Naasson Hazzard, 28, from Austin, was charged in August and indicted in October. After a nine-day trial and about an hour of jury deliberation, he was found guilty on Tuesday.
"A young woman’s life was cut tragically short, her last moments likely spent in terror," said Acting U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham. "But those final moments do not define her life. She mattered, her life had worth, and we are proud to put her kidnapper behind bars."
Travis Pickard, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Dallas, commented on the verdict: "Just a few months ago, this violent criminal not only kidnapped an unsuspecting victim but also took her life. From that time, our commitment has been to seek justice." He added that the guilty verdict brings them closer to achieving justice.
Evidence presented at the trial included surveillance footage showing Hazzard's victim entering his semi-truck in Dallas on August 15 at 9:27 p.m. Her body was discovered eight days later with a black plastic bag tied around her head in a wooded area off Texas Highway 11.
Cell phone records indicated that Hazzard traveled from the pickup location to a nearby parking lot for approximately 17 minutes before driving over three hours to Pittsburg, Texas. There he stayed for almost an hour before completing work duties.
The following day, Hazzard returned to the scene with his wife before dining in Tyler, Texas. In subsequent days, he switched cell phones and deleted location-sharing accounts while cleaning his truck with bleach and searching online about murder sentences.
On August 23—the day the victim's body was recovered—agents found her shattered cell phone along Hazzard's route from the night she died.
Hazzard faces an automatic life sentence following his conviction.
The investigation was conducted by the North Texas Trafficking Task Force with assistance from various law enforcement agencies including Homeland Security Investigation’s Dallas Field Office which leads the Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandie Wade and Renee Hunter prosecuted the case with appellate liaison Jonathan Bradshaw's help.
