Child Predator Duo Harvest Locals for Dark Web “Human Meat Ring”
Cassidy’s Early Life and Family Background
Cassidy Ray Rainwater was born on June 9th, 1988, to mother Tracy Denise Rainwater Wasuk. At the time of our story, Cassidy lived in rural Missouri in the town of Lebanon, about an hour northeast of the city of Springfield. You might be somewhat familiar with this area of Missouri from the Netflix TV show Ozark, which takes place just an hour north of Lebanon in the region known as the Lake of the Ozarks. Rural Missouri is a great place to raise a family, go hunting and fishing, set up camp, and participate in water sports. But like many rural communities, it’s not the greatest place to live if you go missing.
Cassidy attended Harrisonville High School, where she met a man by the name of Ben and had a son. As Ben didn’t want his last name printed in the paper with regards to the story, we’re not going to share it here either. According to a court document from June of 2006, Cassidy took Ben to court for child support, where he was required to pay $224 a month. According to news sources, that child was later put up for adoption.
Cassidy went on to have six children in total, two of which were with a man named Steven Lee Keaney. She also had a son, Parker, with her estranged husband, Zachary Paul. The two were no longer together but could not afford to get divorced. Parker, who many say was a priority in Cassidy’s life, lived with her aunt by marriage, Cora Terry. Both of these fathers have had their fair share of run-ins with the law, which we’ll discuss later in our story.
The Mysterious Disappearance of Tracy
On April 13th, 2007, when Cassidy was just 19 years old, her mother, Tracy, went missing. Her then-boyfriend, Leonard “Len” Couch, was the first to report her disappearance to the police. He told authorities that Tracy might have gone out to look for arrowheads.
On May 8th of 2008, a farmer was spreading fertilizer in his fields when he came across what appeared to be a shoe and a human bone. The remains had been scattered about the field by animals and rising water from a nearby river. Some of the bones were missing altogether. These bones were later identified as belonging to 43-year-old Tracy, who was finally laid to rest on May 17th, 2008, at Shadel’s Colonial Chapel in Lebanon.
But more curious was the fact that the area had previously been searched and also that the field was just across the street from Len’s property. Forensic anthropologists who examined Tracy’s remains before burial could not find any trauma, which conflicted with the findings of the investigators. Still, no charges were ever filed in connection with Tracy’s death. Despite this shroud of mystery that plagued her disappearance, her boyfriend Len went on to pass away on February 19th, 2021. If he was responsible for Tracy’s disappearance, he took that secret to his grave.
Cassidy Goes Missing
At 11:03 p.m. on August 25th, 2021, Cassidy’s aunt, Cora, contacted the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department to report that Cassidy, now 33 years old, was missing. In fact, nobody had seen the young mother in over six weeks. The sad part is, despite having family in the area, no one questioned her whereabouts or reported her missing prior to this.
Upon speaking with Cora, Chief Deputy Darren Cheek learned the last person that was known to be in contact with Cassidy was a man by the name of James Rainwater (no relation). The 56-year-old’s legal name was actually James Phelps, and Cora claimed that the two had left in a silver GMC pickup truck together. It should also be noted that some sources claimed that Cassidy was last seen at a DFS meeting in early July.
Now, James resided in a cabin located at 386 Moon Valley Road in Lebanon. Although the cabin has a Lebanon address, the property sits in Windyville, also known by locals as Spookyville due to the fact that it’s reported to be haunted. It’s not hard to see why. Windyville is home to many cemeteries and a metaphysical school.
After speaking with Cora, Deputy Chris Clark took a trip out to James’ cabin to perform a wellness check on Cassidy. She was nowhere to be found. On September 1st, 2021, Sergeant Robbie Simmons responded to James’ Moon Valley Road address and actually was able to speak with the man. According to James, Cassidy, who had previously struggled with homelessness, had been staying in the loft area of his cabin for a couple of weeks until she could get back on her feet.
He shared that on July 25th, Cassidy had left in the middle of the night. According to James, she had met a vehicle at the end of his driveway, and he hadn’t heard from her since. James did not know who she left with and could not identify the make or model of the vehicle, but he didn’t seem very concerned. The only possible lead he had for Sergeant Simmons was that she had talked about going to Colorado.
Without much information to go on, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department treated Cassidy’s disappearance as just another missing person’s case. There wasn’t a ton of urgency. After all, she was an adult and was free to go missing if she so chose.
The Anonymous Tip and the Dark Web
However, things took a grim turn on September 16th, 2021. The Kansas City FBI headquarters received an anonymous cyber tip into the disappearance of Cassidy Rainwater. The whistleblower, who had an IP address in Germany (which was likely due to a VPN), provided the FBI with a series of photos titled “Cassidy” that had been circulating around the dark web.
The series of photos depicted a partially clothed woman in a cage who was immediately recognizable as being Cassidy. It was clear that she was being held against her will, and her location was obvious based on the background in the photos. It was James Phelps’ cabin. The same day, law enforcement descended upon 386 Moon Valley Road, where James Phelps was placed under arrest.
While executing the search warrant on the property, police recovered seven similar photos of Cassidy on James’ cell phone that were akin to the photos sent to the FBI by the anonymous tipster. The cell phone also led police to another man, 58-year-old Timothy Leroy Norton, who was brought in for questioning on September 19th and 20th. He’d actually been detained while leaving a local Walmart.
Timothy, who was an over-the-road truck driver, lived in a vehicle that was parked at 386 Moon Valley Road and had done so since the early ’90s. He and James had a very long history together that dated back to their high school years. Apparently, the two remained close, as did their families, with many of them referring to each other as siblings, uncles, aunts, or cousins.
James Phelps and Timothy Norton
James David Phelps was born in 1963 to Mary and Charles Phelps. He grew up in Preston, Missouri, and attended Skyline High School in Urbana, Missouri. James was an honor roll student and graduated in 1981. After graduation, he joined the US Army and was stationed in South Carolina for a period of time. He went on to marry in 2009 and later moved to St. Louis, Missouri, followed by a subsequent move to Nemo. He then went on to live in Preston and Camden. Although some reports indicate that James rented the property located at 386 Moon Valley Road, others claimed that he purchased it in 2011 from his parents. In February of 2019, James became an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church. James’ Facebook page lists him as separated with a daughter, a granddaughter, and two grandsons.
Now, Timothy Leroy Norton was born in 1965 to parents Betty Norton and Vernon Hansen in Cromwell, Minnesota. He attended Hermitage High School, where he was an honor roll student his senior year. After graduating, he joined the Marines and became a helicopter pilot. Timothy married his first wife in August of 1988, where he was 23 and she was a 17-year-old senior in high school. This marriage ultimately ended in divorce. Timothy had a criminal history beginning in the early ’90s, including petty crimes such as writing bad checks and not wearing a seatbelt. He had also been sued by landlords for non-payment. In July of 1993, Timothy was injured when he threw gasoline on a brush fire, which ignited the gas container he was holding. He was treated for second and third-degree burns at a Springfield hospital. Timothy went on to marry his second wife in March of 1994 in Preston, Missouri. Although there are no records indicating this, I think it’s safe to say that Timothy’s second marriage also ended in divorce due to the fact that he was living in a vehicle on James’ property.
Whereas James refused to answer the FBI’s questions and quickly chose to lawyer up, Timothy was extremely loose-lipped. At the end of the day, both men were arrested and charged with kidnapping, facilitating a felony, inflicting injury, and terrorizing.
The Rumor Mill and the Suspicious Fire
But on the lips of every resident of Lebanon were the words, “Where is Cassidy?” It was obvious that the Dallas Sheriff’s Department knew something, and it was clearly a big deal because the FBI was involved. As we see in many cases where the details are kept from the public, rumors began circulating like wildfire on social media.
The craziest of them all was that James and Timothy were butchering people in their home and selling human meat on the dark web in cannibal forums—and they’d been at this for over 15 years. One neighbor even claimed that she had found skin hanging from a tree. Of course, none of this could actually be true. Right? With no word on Cassidy’s whereabouts, rumors coming from the tight-knit community were now spreading across county lines.
“I feel like they’re kind of taking the story and running with it and maybe making it hyped up to more than what it really is. But I also feel like if law enforcement and others would give us more information, then maybe they wouldn’t have to resort to that kind of filling in.”
Savannah Williams lives in Urbana. She says she moved to Dallas County to get away from violence in Kansas City.
“Everything was quiet and I thought moving to the country was going to be the best bet. Now I don’t want to go back to the city, but I feel like I might have made a bad choice.”
Williams says a lack of information coming from authorities still investigating leads an entire community to speculate.
“And then all of a sudden, like, I’m hearing about a guy who’s got women locked up and possible torture. And I don’t understand what makes people get like that.”
But this is where things start to get even more scary. On October 4th, 2021, while James and Timothy were locked up in jail, a fire broke out at 386 Moon Valley Road. The cabin and almost everything on the property burned to the ground. While the blaze was being extinguished, a Dallas County Sheriff’s deputy discovered a tripwire attached to a mortar tube with a balloon cover. Due to the suspicious nature of the fire and what appeared to be a booby trap, the Springfield bomb squad was called to the scene, where they detonated the device at 1:30 a.m. Investigators with the state’s Fire Marshal’s Office later ruled the fire to be undetermined and criminal.
“The case of Cassidy Rainwater’s disappearance became even more perplexing when the cabin belonging to one of the men charged with kidnapping her burned to the ground last night. KOLR 10’s Ashley Eddy shows you what’s left of that burned cabin.”
“This is what remains after the fire from Monday night. The sunlight now showing us what the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office tells us is a total loss. Officials say this home of alleged kidnapper James Phelps burned to the ground and a bomb squad was called in. Now, let’s show you the scene from late Monday night. Officials with the Missouri Department of Public Safety say help from the Division of Fire Safety was requested by the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office for a cause and origin investigation. But that’s not all. Springfield City officials confirmed the city’s bomb squad was called in to investigate after a Dallas County deputy found something that resembled a tripwire. Officials say the bomb squad arrived around 1:30 in the morning and detonated an explosive device near the area of the fire. Springfield City officials say they don’t have any further information, only that they responded at the request of the sheriff’s office. We’ve reached out to the sheriff’s office to try to get some more information behind this fire. We’ve yet to hear back. We’ll be sure to keep you updated with all the latest information. Reporting from Dallas County, Ashley Eddy, Ozarks First.”
According to neighbor Rachel Wilson, who witnessed the fire:
“All of a sudden, the house collapsed and the flames got bigger. We could feel the heat. Everything was on fire, and we sat there and watched it collapse. I called 911 because I was worried about it catching the woods on fire and spreading to the other houses.”
The fire at 386 Moon Valley Road left investigators and the community with a ton of unanswered questions, as the address was an active crime scene and both James and Timothy were not only locked up but in different facilities to avoid possible collusion. Who was responsible for this? And who set up the bomb? Was it possible there was an entire network of people involved in this rumored human meat ring that were now trying to cover their tracks? The Dallas County Sheriff’s Department took to the internet in an attempt to dispel rumors and call out trolls. However, some locals claimed the authorities were the first ones themselves to leak information and start these rumors.
The Court Hearings and Horrifying Evidence
On October 5th, 2021, both James and Timothy appeared in court via a video conference that only lasted a few minutes. One of the accused joined the broadcast from the Dallas County Jail, while the other joined from the Greene County Jail. Judge Lisa Henderson set a date for a preliminary hearing on November 5th at 9:30 a.m.
“James Phelps and Timothy Norton, the two men accused of kidnapping Cassidy Rainwater, were seen for the first time in a courtroom this afternoon. Bailey Stroll is in the courtroom today. She’s live at the Dallas County Courthouse to detail what happened in front of the judge.”
“Heather and Steve, both James Phelps and Timothy Norton were here today. They were seen through video conference from the jails that they are at. And we’ll show you that footage in just a few seconds. But the hearing itself here at the Dallas County Courthouse was pretty quick, only lasted a few minutes. The judge quickly setting a date for a preliminary hearing for both of them next month. ‘Mr. Norton, are you able to hear us?’ Criminal hearings in Dallas County today bring new video of James Phelps and Timothy Norton from jail. More than two weeks since the two were arrested, accused of kidnapping Cassidy Rainwater. Judge Lisa Henderson spoke with each of their public defenders this afternoon, with all agreeing to meet here again next month. ‘Mr. Norton, we’re setting your case for preliminary hearing on November 5th and that will be at 9:30 a.m. We’ll see you here in the courtroom on that date. That’s all I have for you today. Thank you.’ ‘All right. Thank you.'”
However, on November 17th, 2021, things started to ramp up. Both James Phelps and Timothy Norton’s charges were upgraded to first-degree homicide and abandonment of a corpse. You see, the authorities had been waiting on DNA tests to come back with regard to some pretty chilling evidence that they found in James’ cabin. One of Cassidy’s ex-boyfriends and the children they shared had provided samples for the FBI.
It was then that much of the evidence that was found started to become public. Let’s start with the photographs that were sent to the FBI by the anonymous tipster, as well as the additional seven that were found on James’ cell phone. It had been shared previously that some of the pictures depicted a partially clothed woman thought to be Cassidy in a cage. It was actually far worse than that. Some of the pictures depicted Cassidy strapped to a gantry crane. We’re going to put up a picture for reference because I’m sure a lot of you are unfamiliar, but a gantry crane is a type of overhead crane that straddles its load. They come in many different sizes. Smaller gantry cranes are generally used in machine shops, but some folks use them to process livestock and wild game. I’m sure you can see where this is unfortunately going.
In addition to these photographs, there were others depicting Cassidy’s subsequent evisceration and dismemberment. Come to find out, quite a bit of evidence had been seized from 386 Moon Valley Road during the execution of the search warrant on September 16th, as well as subsequent searches that were conducted the same week. The gantry crane was located behind the cabin. Blood evidence was found inside of the cabin, but what was found in the freezer was by far the most damning. Per the DNA results, human flesh that was proven to belong to Cassidy Rainwater was found packaged up like beef and was dated July 24th.
This date in particular will become important in a moment and will tie into how Timothy had become loose-lipped with the FBI. Skeletal remains that belonged to Cassidy were located on an adjacent property which coincidentally belonged to Cassidy’s late grandfather, Bill Rainwater. So maybe, just maybe, these rumors of a human meat ring were not too far off.
In addition, investigators were able to locate digital evidence on seized electronic devices, which led them to Timothy Norton. What they recovered was the nail in the coffin for both of them, even before the DNA tests came back. In a series of messages dated July 24th, 2021, James and Timothy were texting back and forth discussing their plans to kill Cassidy. Timothy actually admitted to all of this during a September 20th interview. During that interview, Timothy told investigators that James asked him to come over while Cassidy was sleeping. Allegedly, she had been sleeping on the floor near the front door of the cabin, so she was an easy target. According to Timothy, he held the woman’s legs down and James strangled her and placed a bag over her head. After they knew she was dead, the two took a short break before carrying her body outside. He stated it was then that James bound Cassidy to the gantry crane and began to eviscerate and dismember her body. Afterwards, the pair carried her remains inside of the cabin and placed her dismembered body parts into the bathtub.
One of the strangest bits of information that we’ve read about this case was an article written about what actually happened when the police initially descended upon James’ cabin on September 16th. According to this article, police became suspicious of James when they interviewed him because he was acting weird. Allegedly, they walked to the back of the cabin and saw meat hooks in the bathroom through a window. It was then that the police sought a warrant for the property. According to the article, when they kicked in James’ door the following morning, they allegedly found him eating a sandwich that contained human remains. Allegedly, he laughed and told investigators that he had served human ribs to an unsuspecting neighbor a few days prior. As the rumor mill in the town of Lebanon was rife with crazy stories, please take this one with a grain of salt, as it was not listed in the official affidavit.
Pleas, Sentences, and the Aftermath
At their court appearance on November 19th, 2021, chilling details surfaced regarding James and Timothy’s disgusting process of hunting for potential victims. According to Timothy, James would search for his prey online and at their local Walmart.
In July of 2022, James entered a plea of not guilty. A few months later, prosecutors filed an intent to seek the death penalty against him. James’ public defender, Tom Jacquino, filed several motions, including dismissing the charge of abandonment of a corpse, recording all court proceedings, and requesting that his client would appear in person to all of his future hearings. He also filed a notice of intent to interview the laboratory examiners before the pre-trial hearing. Attorney Jacquino argued that charging James with abandonment of a corpse violated his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, stating it essentially requires him to report himself. However, the prosecutor, Jonathan Barker, stated that James could have called in a tip anonymously about the location of Cassidy’s remains.
On November 23rd, 2022, Timothy pled not guilty to charges of first-degree homicide and abandonment of a corpse. However, court documents revealed that CSAM material, as well as other similar material of a violent nature, had been found in Timothy’s home, which was James’ home as well. Due to the nature of the material, Judge Lisa Henderson ruled that this explicit material, as well as the photos and videos of Cassidy, would only be shown to those dealing with the case, and even then, they would only be shown to those essential for trial preparation. In addition, the judge ruled that Timothy himself may not possess or view this material without one of his attorneys or one of their staff present.
On April 28th, 2023, James Phelps entered an Alford plea for the charge of first-degree homicide in an attempt to avoid the death penalty. An Alford plea is made when a defendant pleads guilty but does not admit to the crime, only acknowledging that there is enough evidence that they would be found guilty in a jury trial. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole and is currently doing time at the Fulton Reception and Diagnostic Center.
On June 27th, 2023, Timothy Norton followed suit and was sentenced to life in prison without parole after pleading guilty. As he was just recently sentenced, his jail assignment has not been made public as of the date of this recording.
We normally share funeral and burial information for the victims in our stories, but sadly it doesn’t appear that Cassidy had an obituary. What we can do is take the time to share a few words about her. According to friends, Cassidy was known for her amazing singing ability. Family members posted online that she was a “wild soul.” When interviewed, Ben, the father of Cassidy’s first son, said that the mother did struggle at times, and during their final conversation back in May of 2019, he offered to help her. He believed that Cassidy was homeless with another child in tow.
“I always worried about her just because of her past. She was in a bad way. She and I talked and I was like, you know, come to Kansas City. We’ll get things figured out. She was hoping to get her life back together.”
“It’s devastating. It’s shocking. It’s not something you deal with on a daily basis or hear about, or somebody who’s even close to you. Um, it’s just a crazy world we live in, and I can’t even process the feelings right now to be honest with you.”
As we mentioned previously, Cassidy and Ben put their son up for adoption. As of the date of this recording, he is now a teenager. Ben actually received word of Cassidy’s disappearance from his son’s adoptive family. According to Ben, the family was attempting to shield their son from the news surrounding Cassidy’s case.
We also mentioned the fathers of some of Cassidy’s other children, Steven Lee Keaney and Zachary Paul. Steven was arrested in 2022 and was charged with multiple counts of SA involving an underage relative. Apparently, the lewd acts had been going on for at least a year. The young victim confessed what had been taking place to a relative, and that relative confronted Steven. Afterwards, he proceeded to harass the victim via text and attempt to get her to keep quiet. He is currently serving 15 years in the Farmington Correctional Center. It should be noted that Steven was born in 1964, and it’s clear he has a proclivity for younger girls. As Cassidy was born in 1988, Steven is old enough to be her father rather than the father of her children.
Zachary Paul, Cassidy’s estranged husband, was arrested and faced felony drug charges after being stopped by the Missouri Highway Patrol on February 22nd, 2023. The 33-year-old was found in possession of Suboxone and methamphetamine. He also faced misdemeanor charges for possessing drug paraphernalia and driving with a revoked license. As of the date of this recording, Zachary Paul is sitting in the Tipton Correctional Center on a totally unrelated charge, third-degree domestic assault. According to prison records, he’ll be in that facility for the next three years. Some publications have noted that Zachary was trying to obtain custody of Parker, who is the son he shared with Cassidy. It looks like that might be unlikely.
Unanswered Questions
Now, this story leaves us with more questions than we have answers for. Yes, James and Timothy will be spending the rest of their lives behind bars, but a beautiful young woman lost her life, and her body was treated in the most horrific ways possible. Six children will never get to see their mommy again.
I think there’s more to this story. They never solved the mystery of the fire and the homemade bombs at 386 Moon Valley Road. They’ve never confirmed whether or not there was an actual crime ring killing people like livestock and selling their meat on the dark web. I don’t know about you, but the fact that they field-dressed Cassidy in their backyard and butchered her up like a lamb speaks volumes.
So, what do you think? Do you think there are more victims? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section down below.
