Lawrence Singleton

Lawrence Bernard "Larry" Singleton (July 28, 1927 – December 28, 2001¹) was an American criminal who raped and mutilated adolescent hitchhiker Mary Vincent in California in September 1978, and then murdered Roxanne Hayes after being released from prison eight years later. He raped Vincent and amputated her forearms, then left her to die in a culvert off Interstate 5 in Del Puerto Canyon. She managed to stop a car, and get to safety and later acted as a critical witness against Singleton and also in the later murder trial. Released from prison on good behavior after serving eight years of his 14-year sentence, he later murdered Roxanne Hayes, a mother of three. On February 19, 1997, police found him covered in blood after stabbing her in his new home.

Lawrence Bernard "Larry" Singleton (July 28, 1927 – December 28, 2001) was an American criminal who raped and mutilated adolescent hitchhiker Mary Vincent in California in September 1978, and then murdered Roxanne Hayes after being released from prison eight years later. He raped Vincent and amputated her forearms, then left her to die in a culvert off Interstate 5 in Del Puerto Canyon. She managed to stop a car, and get to safety and later acted as a critical witness against Singleton and also in the later murder trial. Released from prison on good behavior after serving eight years of his 14-year sentence, he later murdered Roxanne Hayes, a mother of three. On February 19, 1997, police found him covered in blood after stabbing her in his new home.

Biography

Lawrence Singleton was born in Tampa, Florida. He worked as a merchant seaman.

Return to Florida

Singleton returned to his native Florida after his release. In 1990, he was twice convicted of theft. He served a 60-day sentence for stealing a $10 disposable camera in the spring of 1990 and, in the winter, received a two-year prison term for stealing a $3 hat. Before his sentencing for the latter crime, he described himself to the judge as "a confused, muddleheaded old man". In the spring of 1997, a neighbor called police to report Singleton assaulting a woman in his home in Sulphur Springs, Florida. When police responded, they found the dead body of Roxanne Hayes; she had been stabbed multiple times in the upper body. Hayes was a mother of three. Mary Vincent traveled from California to Tampa to appear at Singleton's sentencing. During her testimony, she described Singleton's attack and the toll the ordeal had taken on her. On February 20, 1998, the jury found Singleton guilty, and on April 14, 1998, the judge sentenced Singleton to death. Singleton died in 2001 of cancer in a prison hospital at the North Florida Reception Center near Starke, Florida.

References

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1378687511 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.