{"id":6158,"date":"2026-09-12T13:47:23","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T13:47:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/?p=6158"},"modified":"2026-09-12T13:47:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T13:47:23","slug":"woman-who-survived-killer-cutting-off-both-her-arms-as-a-teen-reveals-how-she-managed-to-stay-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/?p=6158","title":{"rendered":"Woman who survived killer cutting off both her arms as a teen reveals how she managed to stay alive"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"article-heading\">\n<header class=\"entry-header\">\n<div class=\"heading col-sm-12 col-md-offset-0 col-md-12\">\n<nav id=\"breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"breadcrumbs\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/nav>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body-container\">\n<div class=\"article-main\">\n<div class=\"article-content-container\">\n<div class=\"article\">\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"show-inline-featured-image wp-caption alignnone\">\n<figure class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-msnfeed-thumbnail size-msnfeed-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-main.newsner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/09\/10114821\/MaryVincent.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn-main.newsner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/09\/10114821\/MaryVincent.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/cdn-main.newsner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/09\/10114821\/MaryVincent-400x210.jpg 400w, https:\/\/cdn-main.newsner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/09\/10114821\/MaryVincent-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn-main.newsner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/09\/10114821\/MaryVincent-412x216.jpg 412w, https:\/\/cdn-main.newsner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/09\/10114821\/MaryVincent-664x350.jpg 664w\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Karen T. Borchers\/MediaNews Group\/The Mercury News via Getty Images, Bettmann\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>When 15-year-old Mary Vincent was left alone and badly injured in California in 1978, she had every reason to believe she was going to die. Instead, she found a way to keep herself alive.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"newsner-1396325660\" class=\"newsner-after_first_paragraph\">\n<div id=\"intext_200113_1_wrapper\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vincent had been hitchhiking when she accepted a ride from Lawrence Singleton. She was trying to get to her grandfather\u2019s home after leaving an abusive situation when Singleton picked her up in his blue van. The ride soon turned into a nightmare.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Singleton drove Vincent away from the main road before attacking her. He struck her with a metal hammer, stripped her and tied her up before sexually assaulting her for hours.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the assault was over, the attack became even more horrific. Singleton used a hatchet to cut off both of Vincent\u2019s arms before throwing her down a ravine and leaving her there. But Vincent was still alive.<\/p>\n<div id=\"newsner-157c3933aa331725bcfdc45dad2f93a6\" class=\"newsner-157c3933aa331725bcfdc45dad2f93a6 newsner-incide_content_once\"><\/div>\n<h2 id=\"h-i-had-to-stop-the-bleeding\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cI had to stop the bleeding\u201d<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And she knew she had to do something quickly to stop herself from bleeding to death.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Years later, Vincent described the moments after the attack on the YouTube series What It Was Like.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI had to stop the bleeding from my arms because I\u2019m moving now and my blood is leaking, and I only have so much blood in my body,\u201d she said, according to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ladbible.com\/news\/crime\/woman-survivor-arms-cut-off-stayed-alive-290857-20260909?utm_content=lad&amp;utm_medium=Social&amp;utm_source=facebook&amp;fbclid=IwY2xjawUPMC1wZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMEhieXF3WXNoQ3JuMkJudE1zcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeajDIpXC7ycYlmBeB-EeVc7fo8dsGPZlV62iY4vQD-To0_xDsMnHGE0uZu68_aem_Nq6-WVuPVasZJ48i4ZV0Ww\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">LADbible.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo I stuck my arms in the dirt and packed it. It acted like mud because it got gelled with the blood, but it stopped me from bleeding.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"newsner-75701216\" class=\"newsner-article_inside_content\">\n<div id=\"intext_200113_2_wrapper\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsner-f82afa664542e9ef099340f754f7b439\" class=\"newsner-f82afa664542e9ef099340f754f7b439 newsner-amp_article_inside_content\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The improvised method helped her survive long enough to find help.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vincent then began walking. She covered roughly four miles before encountering people who might have been able to help her. But when they saw her, they drove away.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-first-people-who-saw-her-drove-off\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The first people who saw her drove off<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vincent later remembered seeing a red sports car carrying two men wearing cowboy hats.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe first people that stopped were in a red sports car and they had cowboy hats on,\u201d she recalled. \u201cOne had a white felt cowboy hat on and the other had a straw cowboy hat; I\u2019ll never forget their faces and they\u2019ll never forget mine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m all naked, covered in blood, but I have no hands,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI look like something out of one of those horror movies and those two guys freaked out. You could see the tyre marks because they peeled out so fast, and I said, \u2018Please!\u2019 when I asked them to help me, and they left.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Vincent, the thought of continuing on was overwhelming.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOh God, do I still have to keep walking?\u201d she remembered thinking.<\/p>\n<div id=\"newsner-736091318\" class=\"newsner-article_inside_content\">\n<div id=\"intext_200113_3_wrapper\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsner-5fa27d52a08ca94a455d5d88661a30a8\" class=\"newsner-5fa27d52a08ca94a455d5d88661a30a8 newsner-amp_article_inside_content\"><\/div>\n<h2 id=\"h-she-finally-got-help\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">She finally got help<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A short time later, another vehicle approached. \u201cJust a few minutes later, a beat-up pickup truck comes pulling in. I told God, \u2018OK, I asked nicely the first time for somebody to help me, and I said please. This time, they\u2019re gonna help me or not, they\u2019re gonna have to run me over!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She stood directly in the vehicle\u2019s path and screamed for help.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe guy came out running real fast and picked me up, and his wife opened the passenger door,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey were just trying to keep me awake and keep me talking, and all I could think of was: I don\u2019t feel very well, I want to go to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vincent survived the attack and later helped authorities identify Singleton.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-singleton-s-sentence\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Singleton\u2019s sentence<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Singleton was eventually convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison. He ultimately served about eight years before being released on parole.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A few years later, in 1998, he was convicted of killing 31-year-old Roxanne Hayes. He was sentenced to death, but he died of cancer in prison in 2001 before the execution could take place.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking to UPI after his later conviction, Vincent said she was devastated \u201cbecause it had to happen again before anyone realised he shouldn\u2019t have been released in the first place\u201d.<\/p>\n<div id=\"newsner-2133620533\" class=\"newsner-article_inside_content\">\n<div id=\"intext_200113_4_wrapper\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsner-8a3137d009aa07d6bdde64ce2b6e0825\" class=\"newsner-8a3137d009aa07d6bdde64ce2b6e0825 newsner-amp_article_inside_content\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vincent went on to marry and have two sons. She has also used her experience to advocate for changes to laws and legal loopholes that can allow violent offenders to receive lighter sentences or return to society.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Credit: Karen T. Borchers\/MediaNews Group\/The Mercury News via Getty Images, Bettmann\/Getty Images When 15-year-old Mary Vincent was left alone and badly injured in California in 1978, she had every &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6159,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6158"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6160,"href":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6158\/revisions\/6160"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}