Florida arrest sparks memories of LV teen's plight

At age 16, Mary Bell Vincent, then living in Las Vegas, enjoyed bowling, though she did not possess the ability to hold the ball in a conventional manner.

When she married a landscaper in a private ceremony in the Pacific Northwest in 1988, there was no finger on which to place her wedding band.

Mary, now 33, has overcome a lot in her life since that fateful day in September 1978 when, as a 15-year-old hitchhiker, she was raped by Lawrence Singleton, who hacked off both her arms. He spent just eight years in prison for the heinous crime that drew worldwide attention to victims' rights.

News of Singleton's arrest in Tampa, Fla., in connection with the stabbing death of Roxanne Hayes, 31, who was found nude in a pool of blood on his kitchen floor Wednesday, surprised few.

And many argue that Singleton, 51 at the time of the Vincent mutilation and now 69, would not be accused of further bloodletting had there not been weaknesses in the law that allowed him to get out of prison in 1987.

Singleton's name returning to the headlines in such a manner dredges up one of the most shocking examples of the cruelty one human can commit on another.

Although attempts to reach Vincent on Thursday were unsuccessful, there is little doubt she breathed a sigh of relief when the former Merchant Marine was once again behind bars.

Vincent, whose testimony helped convict her attacker, has long told reporters that she has had nightmares of Singleton one day finding her and killing her.

According to the News Tribune of Tacoma, Wash., Vincent has since the late 1980s gotten divorced, battled with bouts of depression, been so broke she lived in her car and spent large sums on bodyguards for fear Singleton was nearby.

Today, she lives in a travel trailer in Tacoma with her 10-year-old son. Her 8-year-old boy lives with her former husband, the News Tribune said, noting that she declined to talk about Singleton's arrest.

Quoting a bodyguard, the newspaper said Vincent planned to talk with the tabloid television program "American Journal" today for $5,000, and had been asked not to talk with other media until after that interview.

In 1995, Vincent agreed to an interview with "American Journal." She took the money from the deal and used it as a down payment on a home, which she later lost when book and movie deals did not pan out, the newspaper said.

In 1987, Vincent was awarded $2.4 million by a Clark County District Court judge. Singleton, who cried poverty, never paid her a dime. According to a 1988 news report, Singleton, then living in Pinole, Calif., claimed he got $600 a month from Social Security and had no real property.

Claiming he was suffering from a kidney ailment, Singleton said he had just $200 in the bank.

Some say Singleton hasn't suffered enough. Vincent's suffering, on the other hand, was stark and well-chronicled.

On Sept. 29, 1978, Vincent, at the time a runaway, was picked up hitchhiking in Modesto, Calif., and raped under a bridge near San Francisco. Her arms were then lopped off by a hatchet, and she was left for dead.

In a state of shock, the 5-foot-4, 118-pound brunette with dark eyes wandered nude along a road before she was found.

It was so brutal and so sensational an incident that media outlets, which as a policy don't report the names of rape victims -- especially minors -- had no choice but to make an exception.

In a March 1979 trial in San Diego, Singleton was convicted of attempted murder, kidnapping, rape, sodomy, mayhem and forced oral copulation.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Earl Maas said at the time, "If I had the power, I would send him to prison for the rest of his natural life."

The law at the time, however, allowed for a person convicted of such crimes to be sentenced to only 14 years, four months. Singleton got the maximum sentence amid cries for reforms to the law.

In a second cruel twist of fate, Singleton, who served parts of his sentence at Chino, San Quentin, the Deuel Vocational Institute and finally at a San Luis Obispo prison for three years, was released six years early because of what prison officials termed "good behavior."

After his release from prison, Singleton wandered the country, finding opposition from nearly every community in which he tried to settle. He moved to Rodeo, Calif., in May 1987, but was run out of town by an angry mob.

Singleton, who once lived in Sparks, moved to Florida in the late 1980s.

While Singleton whiled away his time in prison, Vincent became an inspiration to many for her courage and fortitude. After the incident, her relationship with her family greatly improved.

Just four months after the mutilation, Vincent took up bowling, using a special attachment that fit into the holes of the bowling ball. She amazed officials of the Southern Nevada Junior Bowlers Association by placing fifth in the C Division singles at a tournament in early 1980.

Vincent was described by many as a well-adjusted teen who loved to go to dances and play checkers.

Born May 17, 1963, Mary has three brothers and three sisters. As a teen, Vincent grew up in a home that included three dogs and other pets.

In 1979, she testified before California lawmakers, asking for tougher sentences for rapists.

Vincent also gave speeches against hitchhiking and often stopped when she saw a girl thumbing rides to advise her against it. Her prosthetic arms and hooks for hands served as a chilling visual aid to drive home her point about what can and did happen to one teenage hitchhiker.

She later attended UNLV and, later, had a son, Luke Matthew Vincent.

At age 25, Vincent was living in the Pacific Northwest and preparing for a July 30 wedding.

News of her pending marriage again brought forth worldwide support, as people who had never met Vincent showered her with gifts and cash.

At the ceremony, Vincent wore a dress with long sleeves that hid her artificial limbs. Her engagement ring hung from a gold chain around her neck.

In 1992, they were divorced and life spiraled downward for Vincent. Low on funds, she lived for a time out of her car, the News Tribune reported.

According to documents filed in Pierce County Superior Court, Vincent gave up custody of her youngest son to his father because she believed Singleton was in the area and she feared for the boy's safety, the newspaper said.

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