Aspiring Texas Rapper to Stand Trial in Death of L.A. Woman

Antron Singleton, an aspiring rapper charged with murdering a southeast Los Angeles woman in April, was ordered to stand trial Wednesday after a detective testified that there were teeth marks on her face and on pieces of her lung, which had been removed from her chest.

Los Angeles Det. Raymond Jankowski testified at Singleton’s preliminary hearing that when he found the body of the victim, Tynisha Ysais, 21, in her apartment at 108th and Figueroa streets, her chest was ripped open.

Jankowski also testified Wednesday at the Compton Superior Court hearing that a medical examination shortly after Singleton was arrested found blood and flesh not belonging to him in his stomach.

“Her chest was open, exposing internal organs,” Jankowski said. Pieces of her right lung appeared chewed and torn, he said. The detective also said he found a broken three-inch knife blade near her left shoulder.

Ysais’ friend Alisa Allen testified that about noon on April 10, she saw Singleton--who goes by the stage name “Big Lurch”-- naked on the street.

His chest, stomach and mouth were covered in blood, she said. “He was looking toward the sky,” Allen said.

Allen flagged down a police officer, who arrested Singleton. She then went up to her apartment and found her friend, whose nickname was “Pocahontas,” lying dead on her bedroom floor.

“She was cut up really, really bad,” Allen said slowly, holding back tears.

Ysais’ boyfriend, Thomas Moore, testified that he and Singleton had been smoking PCP in the apartment the night before.

The victim’s mother, Carolyn Stinson, sat in back of the courtroom. “That’s so gross,” she muttered under her breath during Jankowski’s testimony. “[The police] told me not to believe the rumors, but they were true.”

Singleton’s attorney, Milton Grimes, said his client is originally from Texas and had been in Los Angeles for a few months recording a rap album.

During Ysais’ funeral, friends and family said she had dreams of becoming a model. Ysais, who had two young children, was known for her wide smile. “She was beautiful,” said her childhood friend Tanisha Lowe. “No matter what was going on in her life, she knew how to keep smiling.”

Superior Court Judge John J. Cheroske ordered Singleton held without bail pending his arraignment June 13.