A truck driver who kidnapped a 25-year-old woman and dumped her body in a wooded area has been convicted of kidnapping resulting in death, Acting U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham announced.
Naasson Hazzard, 28, of Austin, was found guilty Tuesday after a nine-day trial and approximately one hour of jury deliberation.
According to evidence presented at trial, surveillance footage captured Hazzard’s victim, a young sex worker, entering his semi-truck in Dallas at 9:27 p.m. on August 15, 2024. Eight days later, her decomposing body was discovered in a wooded area off Texas Highway 11 in Pittsburg, Texas. A black plastic bag had been tied around her head.
Cell phone data revealed that on the night of August 15, Hazzard picked up the victim and drove to a nearby parking lot, where he remained for 17 minutes. He then drove over three hours to the wooded area in Pittsburg, where he texted his boss that he would be out sick the following day. He remained there for nearly an hour before continuing his work route.
The next day, Hazzard and his wife returned to the scene before going to dinner in Tyler, Texas.
In the days following the murder, Hazzard switched cell phones, deleted his Google and Life360 location-sharing accounts, and used bleach to clean his truck. He also searched online for “how many years for first second and third-degree murders.” Meanwhile, his wife looked up “Pittsburg Texas news.”
On August 23, the same day the victim’s body was recovered, law enforcement discovered her cell phone shattered on the side of the road along Hazzard’s route.
Hazzard now faces an automatic life sentence.
The North Texas Trafficking Task Force led the investigation with assistance from the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office, the Dallas Police Department, the Midlothian Police Department, the Texas Rangers, the FBI’s Dallas Field Office, the Titus County Sheriff’s Office, the Buda Police Department, the Austin Police Department, the Hays County Sheriff’s Office, and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Homeland Security Investigation’s Dallas Field Office led the task force.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandie Wade and Renee Hunter prosecuted the case with assistance from appellate liaison Jonathan Bradshaw.
