Im young; hes old, she thought, her mind racing. She didnt understand what he was doing until she saw her right arm, severed, in a death grip around his forearm. I cant go to sleep. Since 1978, she had been living in fear and near poverty. He was 75 years old. Her blood spilled across the pavement. Vincent was born on February 8, 1920 in Castor, AB. Standing on the roadside, she lifted what was left of her arms over her head. With a sign in her hand announcing she was heading south, she faced the direction of the oncoming traffic, determined to hitch a ride. Standing with two other hitchhikers, clutching her sign, a man pulled up in a blue van, empty but for a single bag yet he only had room for one of them, for her. The next day, Lawrence Singleton dragged Mary Vincent out of his van while holding a hatchet. After his attack, he left Vincent for dead, severing both of her forearms with a hatchet. In what might be described as a strange game of parolee hot potato, each city, where Singleton was placed, rejected him. The same thing could not be said for Mary Vincent. Mary became an artist and found ways to use her prosthetics to create art and also design and customize her own prosthetics with scrap pieces around her home. He did as she asked, correcting his course, only to soon pull over, telling her he needed to relieve himself before getting out of the car. Her already strained relationship with her parents worsened, as shed say later in her life, They were more interested in what they felt about what happened to me than what I felt. Their interest wasnt for the victim, Roxanne Hayes. I didnt think about what type of person he was or the situation. Shed become an aspiring artist, who loved to draw family portraits and feminine warriors, but still woke often to nightmares that will likely never go away. As an adult appearing in the show, I Survived, Mary Vincent explains what went through her mind the moment of the hatchet attackthat took both her arms: He took my left arm and took one swing. Some behind trash cans and in the backseats of unlocked cars. In one of the most talked about episodes, Mary Vincent recounts her hitchhiking experience gone horribly wrong. Shed run away from home. She should have died there. No address found. Lawrence Singleton, and the atrocities he committed toward Mary Vincent, quickly became the worst kind of infamous. Instead, she settled in and fell asleep. (Source: Stanislaus County Sheriffs Office). Terrified, exhausted, in searing pain, she pleaded with Singleton over and over throughout the ordeal. As multiple news outlets came crashing into her life, pushing her to rehash and revamp her trauma, she mourned the life of Roxanne. She was finally safe from the monster who tried to destroy her, but the nightmare of what happened to Mary Vincent was just beginning. //--> He stripped her and sexually assaulted her in the back of the truck. She did receive. Im a year younger than Mary, and my friends and I hitchhiked constantly. Watch I Survived Season 4 Episode 1 | Lifetime I Survived S 4 E 1 Mary, Brooke, and Sharene Dec 06, 2009 | tv-14 A young runaway has her arms cut off in a horrific assault. "I'll set you free.". There is no nice or good way to say he began raping her. She was almost sure she could outrun the old man if she had to. "Please, just set me free. There is a happy ending. Her attacker sat only a few feet away as she reopened her wounds. The medias interest wasnt even really for the crime committed. Mary spent her early years in Las . The death of another woman was statistically unremarkable. It's honestly one of the most horrific crimes I have ever heard of. And like many teenagers, she was dealing with the fallout from her parents divorce at the time of the attack. He would insist that, in reality, two other hitchhikers he picked up were Marys true attackers, that he was entirely framed for the crimes he was charged with, that he was the real victim. Again, people saw through his story, as he was found guilty after less than four hours of deliberation. AETNUK. Notably, his second marriage fell apart after two years in his refusal to accept or change his addiction or anger . The fog of sleep lifted and the 15-year-old realised. But her art and raising a family helped her to heal and grow. However, she wouldn't make it home in the way she expected. Journalists across the country heard about this moment and saw an opportunity. Ten days later, with a description Mary had given as she recovered in the hospital, police identified and arrested her attacker where he lived. Mary Vincent was just 15 years old when she fought for her life after a savage attack from serial predator Lawrence Singleton who cut off both her arms before leaving her for dead. One citys petition to have him banned received over ten thousand signatures. At the time, the people with cars were limited, so Vincent chose to hitchhike to her grandfather's house. On several occasions, Singleton had to be escorted by police out of what was to be his quiet permanent residence, pushing past hundreds of protestors screaming and waving signs denouncing his presence. They intentionally passed her. Today, Mary Vincent is an artist, victims' advocate, and motivational speaker. Listen to a collection of audio about Mary Vincent including guest interviews from podcasts and more. When the young hitchhikers asked for a ride. Over and over, ignoring her cries, her pleas to be set free, her promises not to tell anyone if he did. I just can't fathom how anyone is evil enough to do to Mary what that monster did to her. Some sweltering nights were spent in the car of a short-lived boyfriend near San Francisco, until he was arrested for the rape of another teenaged girl. The birds. Mary Vincent (born 1963) is an artist and victims' advocate. When police arrived they found him standing over her body, his shirt splattered with blood. A former journalist and current freelance SEO specialist, she does her best to combine both in her stories at BB. Im the writer of this piece. She watched the sun begin to rise, the light of it inevitably seeping through the windows of the van. The man she had spent so much time fearing would come after her was locked up once again. Somehow she managed to drag herself back up to the road and then travel 3 miles before flagging down a couple who were on their honeymoon, who stopped to rescue her (via Open Ceilings Magazine). Now, he was just inches away. Wrong. 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