Source: US FBI
A truck driver who kidnapped a 25-year-old woman and dumped her dead body in the woods in August 2024 was sentenced today to life in federal prison, announced Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Nancy E. Larson.
Naasson Hazzard, 28, of Austin, was indicted in October 2024 on federal charges of kidnapping resulting in death, which carried a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. Hazzard’s victim was an army veteran who entered the military immediately after high school. Information shared during the sentencing hearing today revealed that there were full military honors at her funeral.
After an eight-day trial in late January this year, a jury convicted Hazzard. Today, U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay sentenced him to life in federal prison.
“The tremendous, relentless work of multiple law enforcement partners brought the terrible acts of this predator to light, and the jury answered the call for justice by finding him guilty,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy E. Larson. “Now, the life sentence he will serve reflects the value and sanctity of this victim’s life. We hope that this sentence helps her family in the healing process.”
“This defendant has been justly sentenced to prison for his abhorrent actions, ensuring that society will be safe from his predatory behavior for the remainder of his life,” said Travis Pickard, Special Agent in Charge HSI Dallas. “I applaud the unwavering commitment of the North Texas Trafficking Task Force, and all the law enforcement partners whose persistence led to this outcome. May today’s judgment provide some solace to the victim’s family, reassuring them that HSI will never relent in our pursuit of sexual predators who aim to exploit and harm unsuspecting victims.”
According to evidence presented at trial, surveillance video caught Hazzard’s victim, a young woman, entering his semi-truck in Dallas at 9:27 p.m. on Aug. 15, 2024. Eight days later, her decomposing body was found in a wooded area off Texas Highway 11 in Pittsburg, Texas with a black plastic bag tied around her head.
Cell phone records showed that on the evening of Aug. 15, Mr. Hazzard traveled from the pickup location to a nearby parking lot, where he remained for approximately 17 minutes. Evidence at trial reflected that Hazzard picked up the victim with the expectation of engaging in a sex act. He then drove over three hours to a wooded area off Highway 11 in Pittsburg, Texas, where he texted his boss that he would be out sick the following day and remained for almost an hour before completing a load for work.
The next day, he and his wife returned to the scene before going to dinner in Tyler, Texas.
In the days that followed, Mr. Hazzard switched cell phones and deleted his Google and Life360 location sharing accounts. He also cleaned the truck with bleach and searched “how many years for first second and third degree murders.” Meanwhile, his wife searched for “Pittsburg Texas news.”
On Aug. 23, the same day the victim’s body was recovered, agents found the victim’s cell phone shattered on the side of the road along Mr. Hazzard’s route the night she was killed.
“Your Honor, Naasson didn’t just take a life. He destroyed futures. He created a ripple effect of suffering that reaches further than he could ever understand,” the victim’s brother told the Court during his impact statement at today’s sentencing hearing. “I ask you, please don’t see my sister as just a name in a case file. She was a daughter. A sister. A mother. A light in the lives of everyone who knew her. Her life mattered. And her death must mean something.”
The North Texas Trafficking Task Force conducted the investigation with the assistance of the following agencies: the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office, the Dallas Police Department, the Midlothian Police Department, the Texas Rangers, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, the Titus County Sheriff’s Office, the Buda Police Department, the Austin Police Department, the Hayes County Sheriff’s Office, and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Homeland Security Investigation’s Dallas Field Office leads the Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandie Wade and Renee Hunter prosecuted the case with the help of appellate liaison AUSA Jonathan Bradshaw.