A teenage girl’s unimaginable survival against a savage attacker exposes the deadly failures of 1970s soft-on-crime leniency that let monsters roam free, demanding tougher justice today.
Story Snapshot
- Mary Vincent, 15, endured rape, sledgehammer assault, and bilateral forearm amputation before being thrown off a 30-foot cliff—yet packed wounds with mud and climbed to safety.
- Her detailed description from a hospital bed led to Lawrence Singleton’s quick capture via police sketch.
- Singleton served just 8 years of a 14-year sentence, paroled in 1987, then murdered Roxanne Hayes in 1997—proving recidivism risks of weak sentencing.
- Vincent testified before Congress in 1998, influencing the “No Second Chances for Murderers, Rapists, or Child Molesters Act” for victim protections.
The Brutal 1978 Attack
On September 28, 1978, 15-year-old Mary Vincent hitchhiked along California’s Interstate 5 near Delano, heading from Berkeley to Los Angeles. Lawrence Singleton, 50, offered her a ride in his van, insisting only she board despite space for others. He drove the wrong direction; Vincent tried to escape but he struck her unconscious with a sledgehammer. Overnight, Singleton raped her repeatedly as she faded in and out of consciousness. This rural stretch amplified her isolation amid 1970s hitchhiking dangers.
Defiant Survival and Capture
On September 29 morning, Singleton severed Vincent’s forearms at the elbows with a hatchet and hurled her off a 30-foot cliff into a concrete culvert, assuming her dead. Vincent packed her bleeding stumps with mud to stop the flow, scaled the cliff using her arms as leverage, and walked about three miles along the interstate. A passing couple spotted her, rushed her to a hospital. Despite agony, she provided a precise description enabling a police sketch that a neighbor recognized, leading to Singleton’s arrest within a week.
Lenient Sentencing Sparks Outrage
California courts convicted Singleton of rape and attempted murder, sentencing him to 14 years maximum. He served only eight, paroled in 1987 amid 1970s norms favoring lighter terms for non-capital crimes. This decision frustrated victim advocates, as Singleton threatened Vincent in court. His early release foreshadowed disaster: in 1997, he murdered Roxanne Hayes, confirming parole board failures. Such leniency eroded public trust in justice systems prioritizing criminals over victims and families.
Vincent’s ordeal shifted power dynamics; her testimony ensured initial conviction but highlighted judicial softness. Courts and parole boards acted as decision-makers enabling recidivism, while police relied on her resilience for apprehension.
Long-Term Resilience and Reforms
Vincent adapted swiftly, fitting custom prosthetics within weeks and pursuing art at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She won a $2.56 million civil judgment against Singleton, largely uncollected due to his unemployment. In 1998, she testified before U.S. Congress, helping pass the “No Second Chances for Murderers, Rapists, or Child Molesters Act.” Now Mary Bell McGriff, she lives privately in Vaughn, Washington, with husband Tony McGriff, raising two sons while tinkering with prosthetics and creating art. A 2023 interview revealed persistent trauma: “I still feel like that confused 15-year-old.”
Singleton died of cancer in 2001 while imprisoned for Hayes’ murder. Vincent’s story fueled victims’ rights advocacy, deterred hitchhiking, and advanced prosthetic discussions. Economically, the uncollected judgment strained her; socially, it exposed parole pitfalls; politically, it drove federal reforms protecting Americans from repeat predators.
Sources:
https://blurredbylines.com/articles/mary-vincent-lawrence-singleton-attack-survival/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Vincent_(artist)
https://keypennews.org/stories/the-heart-of-a-survivor-blood-courage-triumph,6663
