US3 min(s) read
Almost 50 years ago, a woman miraculously survived a horrifying attack at the hands of a rapist and murderer, which took her arms and almost her life.
Mary Vincent was attempting to hitchhike to her grandfather's house while escaping an abusive environment at home in 1978 when she was picked up by a former merchant seaman called Lawrence Singleton.
After veering from the route, the monster, who served just eight of his 14-year sentence for this stomach-turning attack, before going on to murder another woman, knocked the 15-year-old unconscious with a metal hammer before stripping her naked.
According to court records from the time, Mary suffered repeated sexual assaults while her cries for help and pleas to be set free were ignored.
However, when the sexual assault was over, Mary was far from free. Sickeningly, Singleton hacked off both of the teenager’s arms before throwing her into a ditch to die.
Remarkably, Mary was alive and managed to stem the blood loss and haul herself to find help.
Recalling the moments after losing her arms and being left for dead in an interview for the YouTube series What It Was Like last month, Mary explained the quick thinking that saved her life.
She said: "I had to stop the bleeding from my arms because I'm moving now and my blood is leaking, and I only have so much blood in my body.
"So 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."
The young victim then somehow walked a staggering four miles before finding people who could help, but heartbreakingly, the would-be saviors took one look at her and fled, leaving her alone in the road.
Mary recounted: "The first people that stopped were in a red sports car, and they had cowboy hats on.
"One had a white felt cowboy hat on and the other had a straw cowboy hat; I'll never forget their faces and they'll never forget mine. I'm all naked, covered in blood, but I have no hands.
"I look like something out of one of those horror movies and those two guys freaked out. You could see the tire marks because they peeled out so fast, and I said, 'Please!' when I asked them to help me, and they left."
Thankfully, the couple that ended up saving her life drove past just a few moments later. Mary stood in their way while screaming, giving them little choice other than to pull over and take her to safety.
She said: "The guy came out running real fast and picked me up, and his wife opened the passenger door.
"They were just trying to keep me awake and keep me talking, and all I could think of was: I don't feel very well, I want to go to sleep."
