Rapist Who Mutilated Girl Held in Slaying

Lawrence Singleton, whose parole eight years after he raped a teenager and chopped off her forearms sparked protests throughout California, was arrested Wednesday night in the slaying of a woman in his home.

Singleton, 69, was taken into custody and charged with murder after police responded to a call about a domestic dispute and discovered the woman’s body.

“They framed me the first time, but this time I did it,” a handcuffed Singleton told an Associated Press photographer as he was leaving a police substation for the trip to jail.

On Wednesday night, Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputies received the domestic disturbance call at Singleton’s residence from an acquaintance of his. The man told deputies that he heard a noise inside the house as he arrived at the front door for a visit, said Lt. David Gee.

Gee said the visitor “went in, and observed the victim and Singleton unclothed, struggling. He backed out and called 911.”

When deputies arrived minutes later, Singleton answered the door. His hands were bloody, and he told the officers that he had been chopping vegetables and cut himself, authorities said. Singleton’s phone rang and when he went back in the house, the bloody body of a woman was visible on the floor, authorities said.

The woman had been stabbed multiple times. Deputies immediately took Singleton into custody.

Singleton’s 1987 release from the California Men’s Colony near San Luis Obispo created an uproar in the state, and opposition was so strong that corrections officials had to shuttle him from city to city as residents staged angry demonstrations and even filed suit to keep him out of their communities.

He had to be removed under police guard from one apartment in Contra Costa County after his location was discovered and a crowd of 500 angry people surrounded the building.

California parole authorities were unable to find a city that would accept Singleton. As a result, then-Gov. George Deukmejian ordered him housed in a mobile home on the grounds of San Quentin prison, where he served his yearlong parole.

When he left San Quentin, Singleton moved to Florida, where he has relatives. He registered with Florida authorities using a Tampa address.

After Singleton’s arrest Wednesday night, deputies discovered “a van with two large cargo doors open” parked in front of his home, Gee said.

Singleton’s neighbors in the Orient Park section of Hillsborough County, east of Tampa, were aware of Singleton’s past, Gee said.

Danny Sales, a neighbor, said Singleton attempted suicide three weeks ago. Sales said he pulled Singleton, who had run a hose from his tailpipe into his van, out of the vehicle as he was gasping for breath. At the time, he did not know about Singleton’s record.

“When I found out, the first thing I thought was should I have left that man in there,” Sales said. “If I had known, I probably would have at least given it a second thought.”

Authorities said the identity of the victim--a middle-aged white woman--may not be available until this morning.

Since 1979, when Singleton was convicted, new laws in California have restored heavy penalties for violent and sexual offenses. If Singleton were convicted of the same crimes today, he would not be eligible for parole for decades, state officials said.

In the wake of the Singleton case, a bill was passed that requires the state to give local police notice before placing parolees within their jurisdictions.

Nancy Fahden, a former Contra Costa County supervisor, said in response to Singleton’s arrest: “He did a dastardly thing the first time to that young lady. If this is true, it was just like something waiting to happen. He was sick in the head. I don’t think he should ever have been let out of jail.”

In 1978, Singleton, a former merchant seaman, picked up Mary Bell Vincent, a 15-year-old girl who was hitchhiking near Berkeley. He drove her in his van to a lonely spot near Modesto, where he raped her, hacked off her forearms with an ax and abandoned her in a remote area of Northern California.

Vincent testified at Singleton’s 1979 trial. But Singleton served less than eight years of his 14-year sentence before he was paroled. His sentence was reduced for good behavior and because he worked while behind bars.

Singleton was arrested twice in 1990 on charges of shoplifting, petty theft and resisting arrest. He was arrested this month on another shoplifting charge.

Associated Press contributed to this story.