Saturday, March 8, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Her arms and her security.
Last week, an 88-year-old man sent a note on a scrap of paper, saying he and his 92-year-old wife wanted to help.
They enclosed three $20 bills, part of their Social Security benefits.
Gestures like this, and hundreds of others, are helping Vincent, said attorney and friend Mark E. Edwards.
"I would say it's long overdue," he said Friday.
Vincent was a 15-year-old runaway in 1978 when Singleton picked her up and offered a ride to Los Angeles.
He raped her and then chopped off her forearms.
But Vincent survived. She dragged herself from a culvert near Sacramento and later identified him.
Singleton, 69, served eight years and four months of a 14-year sentence in a California prison for the attack.
Until last month, Vincent was living quietly near Seattle. The 34-year-old single mother of two declared bankruptcy in 1995 and was holding one of her 18-year-old artificial limbs together with yarn.
Edwards had helped her win a $2.56 million civil judgment against Singleton, but she collected virtually nothing because he was broke.
Always, Vincent was looking over her shoulder, wondering if Singleton would come back to "finish the job," Edwards said.
Singleton's arrest in the stabbing death of a woman in Tampa, Fla., last month again brought Vincent into the public spotlight.
Edwards has stayed in touch with Vincent over the years and the two have become friends.
When a reporter called to ask where donations could be sent, Edwards gave an address.
When the checks and letter began pouring in, he called her. She told him she had to think of her children's future.
"I immediately went to the Pacific Northwest and offered to help for set of a trust fund, free of charge," Edwards said.
"I could see that she was visibly moved by the amount of correspondence and the very personal tone of it."
Edwards also contacted several prosthetic limb companies, and NovaCare of Oklahoma City, Okla., offered to help.
A team went to Seattle on Monday to talk with Vincent about new technology they can provide at a less-than-cost basis. They also fixed her old ones.
"Obviously we'll have to pay them something but they're willing to work with her because of her plight," Edwards said.
The hook technology that Vincent has been using is decades old and she was reluctant to change, he said.
"She's very comfortable with them from a security standpoint," Edwards said. "Because they're heavy and sharp, she feels that she could protect herself with them, God forbid that need be."
In the past, companies have tried to help, but Vincent was left with glossy public-relations photos and devices she was not comfortable with or could not use.
"She was extremely apprehensive at first," Edwards said. "I was with her the entire day (Monday) and saw a pronounced change ... from an attitude of apprehension and disappointment to one of happiness and acceptance."
Edwards has given Vincent some money from the fund for some "very basic needs - like rent and utility bills.
When he first tried to call her last month, she was gone, applying for food stamps.
"If this fund continues on the way that we hope, she won't qualify," Edwards said.
Edwards said he's pleased for Vincent, but sorry the impetus for the attention was the cost of a life.
A Florida grand jury Wednesday charged Singleton with first-degree murder in the Feb. 19 killing of Roxanne Hayes, 31, a prostitute.
Editor's note: Donations may be sent to Mary Vincent Fund, c/o Mark E. Edwards Trust Account, 1800 E. 17th St., Suite 101, Santa Ana, Calif., 92705-8604. A group last week set up the Rodeo Mary Vincent Fund, P. O. Box 711, Rodeo, Calif. 94572.
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