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Mary Vincent | An Unimaginable Ordeal #3 — Transcript

by That Crime Guy · 3,351 words · 570 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00it's the 29th of September 1978.
0:03fifteen-year-old Mary Vincent finds
0:05herself on the side of a road in
0:07Berkeley California with two other
0:09people as she's currently hitchhiking
0:11400 plus miles to Corona California to
0:14live with her grandfather
0:17sticking her thumb up at the side of the
0:19road a blue van would pull up alongside
0:21Mary
0:22inside the van would sit a middle-aged
0:24balding man in the driver's seat
0:27the driver would tell Mary that he only
0:29had room for her and not the other two
0:32Mary would speak with the others who
0:34would warn her not to go with the man
0:36sensing something wasn't quite bright
0:39he seemed to have plenty of room but was
0:41adamant he would only take Mary
0:44would decide to take the ride ignoring
0:46the advice from the other two
0:47hitchhikers
0:49it would be a decision that she would
0:51regret for the rest of her life
0:54hello and welcome to the channel
0:57[Music]
1:12foreign
1:19to understand why Mary was hitchhiking
1:21in the first place we need to First Take
1:23a look at her background in more detail
1:26born in 1963 Mary was one of seven
1:29children to parents herb and Lucy
1:33Mary would grow up in Las Vegas with her
1:35father working as a gambling machine
1:37repairman and her mother working as a
1:39casino dealer
1:41her parents raised their children in a
1:43strict environment
1:45but as Mary entered her teenage years
1:47she would test their patients repeatedly
1:49bunking off school and wearing makeup
1:53despite Mary's rebellious nature she was
1:56focused on her Ambitions to become a
1:57dancer
1:59specifically she dreamed of one day
2:01becoming a lead performer her delete
2:04Cabaret in Las Vegas
2:07by 1978 things were stressful for Mary
2:10and her family
2:11herb and Lucy's marriage would break
2:13down resulting in the couple beginning
2:15divorce proceedings
2:18Mary would grow to become frustrated in
2:20her surroundings and made the decision
2:22to run away from home with her boyfriend
2:24at the time
2:25after leaving home in the summer of 1978
2:28Mary and her boyfriend would spend time
2:30in Sausalito California with the pair
2:33living out of the boyfriend's car
2:36however this was relatively short-lived
2:37after police arrested Mary's boyfriend
2:40on suspicion of regular High School
2:42teenager
2:43after her boyfriend's arrest Mary would
2:46initially sleep rough or in unlock cars
2:48before traveling to SoCal California to
2:51live with her uncle
2:53however this would be short-lived as
2:55Mary would eventually decide to travel
2:56over 400 miles to live with her
2:58grandfather in Corona California
3:02it's here that we arrive at the point
3:03where Mary hitched a lift with the man
3:05in The Blue Van
3:07the man told Mary that he was traveling
3:09to Reno Nevada
3:11however he would be prepared to take her
3:12as far as Los Angeles
3:14initially Mary felt relatively relaxed
3:16with the driver
3:18he sparked up a cigarette and began
3:20smoking
3:21soon into the journey she sneezed
3:23prompting the driver to ask her if she
3:26was sick
3:27he reached his hand around to the back
3:29of her neck saying that he was just
3:31checking her temperature
3:33Mary quickly assured him that she was
3:35well joking away in the process and
3:38resting her head against the passenger
3:39door
3:40he released his grip off of her and
3:42popped his hand back onto the steering
3:44wheel
3:45while the man's touching was certainly
3:47unwelcome Mary eventually brushed this
3:49off as the man just simply being
3:51concerned
3:53reportedly the man said that he needed
3:55to stop by his home in San Francisco to
3:57pick up some laundry
3:59Mary was trusting enough of the man at
4:01this point to agree to the pit stop even
4:03helping him put the items into his van
4:05in the process
4:07back on the road the man was now
4:09drinking from a milk carton that
4:12actually contained liquor inside
4:14by now Mary felt safe enough that she
4:17would fall asleep
4:19when Mary woke up
4:21she immediately recognized something
4:23wasn't right
4:24as she noticed that the man was
4:25traveling in the wrong direction
4:31when Mary saw that the road signs showed
4:33they were heading straight towards
4:34Nevada alarm Bells began to ring
4:38Mary in a moment of anger looked around
4:40and found a long sharp stick
4:43ing it up she pointed it at the man and
4:46demanded that he turned the vehicle
4:47round or let her out of the van
4:51surprisingly the man assured Mary that
4:53he had simply made an honest mistake and
4:55took a wrong turn
4:56he turned the vehicle around assuring
4:59Mary that she was not in any danger
5:02a sunset approached the man told Mary
5:04that he would need to pull over to
5:06relieve himself
5:07he turned off of the freeway and headed
5:10down a deserted Road along a canyon
5:12again Mary began to feel on edge and
5:16noticed that her shoes were untied
5:18not wanting to raise suspicion Mary
5:21decided to wait until the man had pulled
5:23over whereby she could get out of the
5:25vehicle and tie her shoes just in case
5:28she needed to make an escape
5:30the man pulled over got out of the
5:33vehicle and headed towards the back of
5:35the van
5:36Mary follows suit and got out of the van
5:39to tie her shoelaces
5:41but as she was doing this she felt a
5:43sudden pain on her back
5:45she had been struck with a hammer
5:48another blow with the tall to the back
5:50of Mary's head would render her
5:51unconscious
5:53when Mary came too she found herself in
5:56the back of the man's van with her hands
5:58tied behind her back the man then
6:00climbed into the back of the van with
6:02Mary
6:04don't scream or I'll kill you he told a
6:07petrified Mary
6:09he then ripped off her clothes and
6:11forced himself on her after finishing
6:13the assault he then climbed into the
6:16driver's seat of the van and drove a few
6:18miles before stopping at Del Puerto
6:20Canyon
6:21Mary would beg her captor to free her
6:23from her unimaginable ordeal but the man
6:26produced a plastic jug filled with an
6:28unknown liquid
6:30freeing Mary's hands from the ropes he
6:32told Mary that if she wanted to live she
6:35would need to obey his every command
6:37he ordered Mary to drink the liquid but
6:40Mary was rightfully hesitant
6:42drink it or I'll kill you
6:46he told a frightened Mary who realized
6:48she had no choice and consumed the drink
6:51the man would then force himself on Mary
6:53again this time carrying out unspeakable
6:56acts in the process
6:58the ordeal would last several hours with
7:01Mary eventually passing out again due to
7:03a combination of alcohol and fear
7:06by the time she came to again
7:08she continued to beg the man to set her
7:10free
7:11the man ordered Mary out of the van and
7:14told her to lie on the edge of the road
7:16she did as she was told but could hear
7:18the man rummaging around in the van
7:21she then felt the man's hand grabbed her
7:24left hand
7:25you want to be free
7:27I'll set you free the man said to Mary
7:30as he swung an ax into her left forearm
7:34after cutting off her left forearm with
7:36three strong swings he moved to the
7:38right arm and proceeded to hack away
7:40severing her right forearm too
7:44reportedly Mary's left hand was still
7:46tightly gripped to the man's sleeve
7:47after being cut off
7:49causing him to flail his arm to release
7:51its hold of him
7:53Mary shrieks of unbelievable pain
7:55quickly changed to silence
7:57Mary now motionless was dragged by the
8:00man to an embankment and was pushed down
8:03a 30-foot drop
8:05he then stuffed her limp body into a
8:07concrete pipe
8:08leaving Mary there the man coldly said
8:11to her
8:12okay
8:14now you're free
8:17the man returned to his van and drove
8:18away convinced he had successfully ended
8:21the life of Mary Vincent
8:24however he was wrong
8:26Mary was still alive
8:31after having her arms removed Mary's
8:33survival instincts had kicked into gear
8:36she remained motionless while being
8:38dragged towards the embankment and after
8:40being thrown down it and stuffed into
8:42the concrete pipe she continued to play
8:45dead despite the immense pain and
8:47suffering she was experiencing at the
8:49time
8:50she waited inside the concrete pipe for
8:52several hours in a crumpled position in
8:55fear that the man may be waiting
8:57but by the time the sun was climbing
8:59Over the Horizon
9:00she knew she needed to find help
9:04by now Mary was extremely weak due to
9:06the pain and blood loss and she knew if
9:09she gave in to the urge to rest her eyes
9:11she would never open them again
9:14Mary would use mud and dirt to stuff the
9:16Nubs to cauterize the wounds and reduce
9:19the amount of blood she was losing
9:21she would then leave the concrete pipe
9:23relieved to find that the man had long
9:25since gone
9:27she would then climb back up the same
9:2930-foot embankment she had been thrown
9:31from successfully
9:33after reaching the top she lifted her
9:35arms above her head to prevent the
9:37muscles in her arms falling out
9:39and she would begin a three-mile trek
9:41out of the culverts following the sounds
9:43of traffic towards a nearby freeway on
9:46interstate 5.
9:48miraculously she made it to roadside and
9:51not long after reaching the road a car
9:53approached
9:54but the people inside the car upon
9:57seeing Mary continue to drive likely in
10:00fear of what they were witnessing
10:03understandably this was demoralizing for
10:05Mary but shortly after a couple who were
10:08on vacation were driving down the same
10:10road
10:11when they witnessed a naked mutilated
10:14Mary they immediately stopped placed her
10:17into the car and used Linens they had to
10:19wrap her up
10:21they would then drive her to a nearby
10:23airport and call for an ambulance
10:25now in hospital Mary would undergo
10:28extensive surgery which thankfully was
10:31successful
10:32she would be fitted with prosthetic arms
10:34while recovering
10:36police would also visit to speak with
10:37Mary Who provided them with a detailed
10:40account of what's happened
10:42she would also assist with providing
10:44police sketch artists a description of
10:46the man responsible for her ordeal
10:48the image would be released to the
10:50public whereby a man would contact
10:52police to say that the man was a
10:53neighbor of his
10:55the man he said was Lawrence Singleton
10:59Lawrence was a 51 year old man who had
11:02recently split from his wife whom he
11:04shared a teenage daughter with
11:06he was a merchant Seaman but at the time
11:09of the attack he was unemployed
11:11police would arrest Singleton but he
11:14would deny any wrongdoing
11:18in March 1979 Singleton would be in
11:22court for the kidnap attempted murder
11:24and sexual assault of Mary Vincent
11:26Mary would attend the trial to bravely
11:28give evidence against Singleton
11:31when Singleton took to the stand he told
11:34the court that it was actually he who
11:35was the victim
11:37he said that Mary was nothing more than
11:39a quote 10 a night [ __ ] who told him
11:42that unless he took her to California
11:44she would falsely accuse him of sexually
11:47assaulting her
11:48he also told the court that there were
11:50two other Hitchhikers in the van that
11:52day and it was they who mutilated Mary
11:55but when Mary gave her testimony
11:57Singleton's story quickly fell apart
12:00she explained in painful detail the
12:03events that took place referring to
12:05Singleton only as my attacker
12:09when she finished she walked past
12:11Singleton who whispered something to her
12:14that caused Mary to quickly leave the
12:16courtroom
12:17she later explained to prosecutors that
12:19he had said
12:21I'll finish this job if it takes me the
12:24rest of my life
12:26Lauren Singleton would be found guilty
12:28of all charges
12:30but shockingly he was only sentenced to
12:3214 years behind bars
12:34the judge residing the case openly told
12:36Singleton if they could they would lock
12:39him up for the rest of his life but was
12:41unable to as the sentence given to him
12:43was the maximum one the judge could hand
12:45down
12:47life after the attack was not easy for
12:49Mary
12:50she suffered with severe depression and
12:52had to undergo years of physical and
12:54mental therapy in order to adjust to a
12:57new life with her prosthetic arms
12:59Mary would also be transferred to a new
13:01school that was better suited to cater
13:03to her needs
13:05Mary would later say that the therapy
13:07was unsuccessful and that her old
13:09friends distanced themselves from her
13:11with Mary believing that they were
13:13either uncomfortable with her
13:14Prosthetics or that they had grown to
13:17hate her
13:18even more difficult for Mary was soon
13:21after her parents divorce the family
13:23drifted apart
13:25a civil lawsuit was filed following the
13:27attack which Mary won
13:29she would be awarded 2.56 million
13:32dollars but sadly would receive nothing
13:34a Singleton was unemployed at the time
13:36of the attack and reportedly only had
13:39two hundred dollars to his name at the
13:40time of his arrest
13:42the ghost of Lawrence Singleton never
13:44really left Mary after his conviction
13:47the trauma of the attack coupled with
13:50the threats he made to her at the
13:51criminal trial left her understandably
13:53weary of others
13:55despite this she would marry in 1987 but
13:59this relationship broke down within
14:01three years
14:03she would however give birth to two sons
14:05during this time
14:07it was also in 1987 that Mary would
14:10learn that her worst fear had been
14:11realized
14:13Lawrence Singleton having just served
14:15eight years of his 14-year sentence had
14:18been released on parole
14:20now with two sons and her family spread
14:23out from each other
14:24Mary was constantly living in fear that
14:26Singleton May track her down and keep to
14:29his word
14:33news of Lawrence Singleton's parole
14:35sparked protests across California with
14:38many understandably Furious that he only
14:40had served just over half of his
14:41sentence the justification for his early
14:44release the State said was for good
14:47behavior
14:49initially he was paroled to Costa Costa
14:52County California but found that no town
14:55would be willing to accept him into
14:56their community
14:58each time there was an attempt to place
15:00him at a location large numbers of
15:02protesters would gather forcing
15:04authorities to remove him sometimes
15:07requiring armed guards and shielding him
15:09in a bulletproof vest in the process
15:12as a result he spent the rest of his
15:15one-year parole in a trailer on the
15:17grounds of San Quentin prison only
15:19leaving to collect groceries or to visit
15:21the cinema
15:24Singleton however still believed he had
15:26done nothing wrong an amazingly
15:29convinced himself that it was he who was
15:31the victim of Mary Vincent
15:33he lodged a civil complaint maintaining
15:36that Vincent and two other hitchhikers
15:38had extorted money from him in order to
15:40buy drugs
15:42he continued to insist that it was these
15:44two other hitchhikers who had abused and
15:46maimed Mary
15:48but these claims were dismissed outright
15:51after finishing his parole Singleton
15:54would move back to Florida
15:55however he would find himself in trouble
15:58in 1990 he served a 60-day sentence
16:02after he stole a disposable camera worth
16:04ten dollars
16:06later that same year he would land
16:08himself in prison on a two-year stint
16:10after stealing a hats worth three
16:12dollars
16:14after his release Singleton would
16:16seemingly go under the radar until he
16:19reappeared again in 1997. after a police
16:22officer knocked on his door on the 19th
16:24of February 1997.
16:27at approximately 6 PM Hillsborough
16:30County Sheriff's Office received a 9-1-1
16:31call from a house painter who appeared
16:34into the window of Singleton's home and
16:36found him naked and plunging a knife
16:39repeatedly into a woman while she lay
16:41sprawled on a couch
16:43Deputy Raphael morphy was dispatched to
16:45Singleton's home but he reportedly took
16:48office as 34 minutes to arrive on scene
16:50despite the caller apparently saying to
16:53the operator quote
16:54the same guy that cut that girl's arms
16:57off is beating another woman
16:59the delays were ultimately blamed on a
17:01combination of rush hour traffic and
17:04lack of deputies due to it being shift
17:06change time
17:08when he eventually knocked on the door
17:09Singleton answered his shirt was covered
17:12in blood
17:14Singleton had tried to explain this away
17:16by saying he simply cut himself shaving
17:18but when morphe looked behind Singleton
17:21he could see that on the floor lay the
17:23body of a lifeless woman
17:26arrested Singleton there and then but
17:28was unable to search the home at that
17:30point in time a Singleton refused to
17:33allow him into his home
17:34after a two-hour wait for a search
17:36warrant one was granted allowing
17:39officers to go inside and investigate
17:42the woman was identified as being 31
17:44year old mother of three Roxanne Hayes
17:48Roxanne was known to police as she'd
17:50been arrested by them on as many as 99
17:52occasions mostly on prostitution charges
17:56people who knew Roxanne told reporters
17:58that she had struggled with drugs and
18:00she used sex work to support her family
18:03she had been stabbed multiple times and
18:06left on the floor in a pool of her own
18:07blood
18:09Singleton was taken into custody and
18:12even openly told reporters within hours
18:14of his arrest quotes
18:15I did it
18:18at his trial Mary Vincent was asked to
18:20give testimony and she accepted wanting
18:24to ensure that Singleton didn't get
18:25another chance of another early release
18:28she again bravely stood in the same
18:30courtroom with the man who caused her
18:32such misery just two decades earlier and
18:36told a jury of her harrowing experience
18:39Singleton again attempted to play victim
18:42telling jurors that he picked up Hayes
18:44on a tamper Street
18:46he said that she agreed to have sex with
18:48him for twenty dollars but he alleged
18:50that she tried to take more from him
18:52leading to him and I [ __ ] him not
18:55accidentally stabbing her seven times
18:58while trying to stop her
19:00obviously the court cited against
19:02Singleton as it took them just four
19:05hours on the 15th of April 1998 to
19:08sentence him to death by electric chair
19:11the judge residing over the case told an
19:13emotionless Lauren Singleton quote
19:17this was an unprovoked senseless killing
19:19of a human being
19:21we are living in times worse than Sodom
19:23and Gomorrah
19:25Mary Vincent appeared at a press
19:27conference following the sentencing
19:29telling reporters the following
19:32I didn't want to play God and don't want
19:34anyone's death on my hands
19:37but I think there's a little bit of
19:38relief
19:40I think I can start all over and put
19:42everything behind me and hopefully be
19:45safe and happy
19:47as for Lawrence Singleton the man dubbed
19:50the Mad Chopper died on the 28th of
19:52December 2001.
19:55it wouldn't be the chair that ended his
19:57life
19:58cancer
20:00following Singleton's death sentence the
20:03resulting anger over his initial
20:04sentencing caused legislators to seek
20:07longer sentences for violent criminals
20:09a bill dubbed Singleton's law was
20:12introduced that sought to achieve the
20:13same
20:14the bill was strongly supported by Mary
20:16Vincent
20:18her life would begin to take a more
20:20positive turn in the 90s when she
20:22married again in 1998 and will continue
20:25to work on her art using her talent to
20:28inspire others
20:30while Mary lives a mostly private life
20:32she is a staunch advocate for victims
20:35rights and occasionally delivers
20:37motivational speeches to people who've
20:39experienced traumatic situations
20:42despite everything Mary Vincent has
20:44experienced she now no longer considers
20:47herself a victim
20:51thank you for watching if you found this
20:53case informative please consider hitting
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20:57with anyone you know who shares an
20:59interest in True Crime content
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21:14shout outs at the end of each video
21:17speaking of which a special thank you to
21:19my current channel members
21:21needle and fur
21:23the alabaster
21:25Mr gently benevolent
21:26Amanda and Crystal lands
21:30thank you for supporting the channel
21:34until next time
21:36take care
21:37and goodbye
21:40for now
21:48[Music]

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