DALLAS — A 28-year-old man from Austin has been convicted of kidnapping a 25-year-old woman in Dallas and dumping her body in the woods in East Texas, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Federal officials say Naasson Hazzard, of Austin, was charged in August 2024 and indicted in October 2024. Hazzard’s trial lasted nine days, DOJ officials said, and after approximately an hour of deliberation, he was convicted by a jury of kidnapping resulting in death.
“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.”
Surveillance video presented at Hazzard’s trial showed the victim, who federal officials said was a young sex worker, entering his semi-truck in Dallas at 9:27 p.m. Aug. 15.
Eight days later, her body was found in a wooded area off Texas Highway 11 in Pittsburg, Texas, with a black plastic bag tied around her head, DOJ officials said.
Cell phone records showed that on the evening of Aug. 15, Hazzard traveled from the pickup location to a nearby parking lot, where he remained for approximately 17 minutes, the DOJ said in its release. He then drove over three hours to a wooded area 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 DOJ said that the next day, Hazzard and his wife returned to the scene before going to dinner in Tyler, Texas.
In the days that followed, Hazzard switched cell phones and deleted his Google and Life360 location-sharing accounts, officials said. 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 her cell phone shattered on the side of the road along Hazzard’s route the night she was killed.
“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,” said Travis Pickard, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Dallas. “With this guilty verdict, we are one step closer to achieving justice. HSI remains steadfast in using every method at our disposal to apprehend those who commit heinous acts in our communities.”
Hazzard now faces an automatic life sentence, according to the DOJ.