Big Lurch

This article's content is marked as Mature The page Big Lurch contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature pages are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page.

Big Lurch File:Big Lurch.png Full Name: Antron Singleton Alias: Big Lurch Origin: Dallas, Texas, United States Occupation: Rapper (former) Crimes: Murder Cannibalism Mutilation Type of Villain: Cannibalistic Thug

Antron Singleton (born September 15, 1976), better known by his stage name Big Lurch, is an American rapper. He is serving a life sentence for murdering 21-year-old roommate Tynisha Ysais and eating parts of her body in April 2002.^[1][2]

During his music career, Singleton worked with such Bay Area rappers as Luni Coleone, Too Short, Mac Dre, RBL Posse, C-Bo, E-40, Keak Da Sneak, Yukmouth, E-A-Ski and New Orleans-based rapper Mystikal, TQ, DJ U-Neek, Texas' Lil Keke, and Big Bone. He was also a member of the group Cosmic Slop Shop along with fellow members Doonie Baby and Rick Rock.

Early life

Born in Dallas, Texas, Singleton grew up nearby in East Dallas, Texas. At 7 years old, he began writing poetry. He decided to pursue a career in rapping, and began performing in 1990. In his early rap years, Singleton rapped under the name G-Spade, but later changed his name to Big Lurch after earning that nickname from Nubbins Sawyer. This was due to his intimidating figure, very slim and being 6 foot and 6 inches tall.

Prior to murder

In 2000, on September 16, one day after his 24th birthday, Singleton was driving his car when a drunk driver hit him, resulting in his neck being broken. While in the hospital he was heavily medicated. It was while on medication that he wrote one of his songs, "Texas Boy", for his album, It's All Bad. After being released from the hospital, he had trouble walking and was still in pain. Singleton admitted, in Rhyme And Punishment, that he began using PCP to ease the pain.

Murder and lawsuit

On April 10, 2002, 25-year-old Singleton murdered Tynisha Ysais in her apartment in Los Angeles, California.^[3]

The victim was found in her apartment by a friend. Her chest had been torn open and a three-inch blade was found broken off in her scapula. Teeth marks were found on her face and on her lungs, which had been torn from her chest. An eyewitness reported that, when Singleton was picked up by police, he was naked, covered in blood, standing in the middle of the street, and staring at the sky. Neighbors reported hearing "thrashing sounds, followed by an argument, when Singleton said 'Tynisha, you're a sock', and from there was only screaming."^[4]

A medical examination performed shortly after his capture found human flesh in his stomach that was not his own. The victim's boyfriend said she and the aspiring rapper used PCP the day before the alleged murder took place.^[1]

On November 7, 2003, Singleton was sentenced to life in prison.^[3] He had been convicted of murder and aggravated mayhem the previous June after pleading not guilty by reason of insanity at the time of the murder. The court ruled that his intoxication and claimed insanity were not satisfactory reasons for committing the crime, after a court-appointed psychiatrist who evaluated Singleton reported that he had no reason to believe Singleton was of unsound mind; three other court-appointed doctors concluded that Singleton was insane during the commission of the crime. The district attorney made a motion for a directed verdict, stating that PCP intoxication can not be used as grounds for an insanity plea in California, and the judge granted it. It is not known whether he will ever be eligible for parole.

In 2004, Stress Free Ent. and Black Market Records released a solo LP on behalf of Singleton, It's All Bad. Features included Killa Tay, C-Bo, Lil Keke, Roger Troutman II, and Too $hort.

Ysais' mother, Carolyn Stinson, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Black Market Records, Singleton's record label. The label, in similar fashion, has put out albums for X-Raided while he was awaiting trial and eventually convicted of murder (Xorcist, Unforgiven, Vol. 1, etc.). The suit charged that the label had provided Singleton with drugs "to encourage [him] to act out in an extreme violent manner so as to make him more marketable as a 'gangsta rap' artist."^[1]

"Part of what makes a Gangsta Rap artist marketable is the fact that the artist is participant in violent activities," the lawsuit said.^[1]

Singleton was incarcerated at California State Prison, Los Angeles County in Lancaster, California. He was transferred to California State Prison, Sacramento (SAC). A petition to "Free Big Lurch" has been started by those believing his conviction was based on entirely circumstantial evidence.

Singleton was featured in the film Rhyme and Punishment, a 2011 documentary that chronicles hip-hop artists who have been incarcerated. In the film Lurch talks about his conviction and time in prison. In June 2013 Singleton was featured alongside other individuals who have used PCP in a television show titled Drugs Made Me Do It. This series focuses on individuals who had simple, everyday lifestyles before the use of PCP.

Singleton is currently incarcerated at California State Prison Sacramento.

Theories

Tynisha's mother, Carolyn Stinson, would later go on record to say that she doesn't think that Singleton did it. She seemed to thing that Tynisha's boyfriend was the one that killed her. "Her boyfriend was a gang member. I believe he's the one who set all this up. He was beatin on her. She had all her stuff packed, ready to leave, the day all this happened", Stinson said.

She believed that her daughter was murdered and had her chest torn open by her boyfriend and Singleton found her lung on the floor and began to eat it, thinking it was a piece of meat on a PCP high.

Singleton echoed these claims, saying "they got me high on purpose to take advantage of me". Stinson went on to say that the bottle of PCP had been poured down her daughter and Singleton's throats and that they hadn't smoked it willingly. The police had told her that with the amount of PCP in her system, it wouldn't have been possible for her to smoke that much.

The murder was committed with a child's scooter and a bloody handprint was found on the scooter that did not belong to Singleton or to Tynisha. There were also bloody fingerprints and footprints in the house that did not belong to either of them, tooth marks on the body that didn't match his (Singleton suggested that they were hos pitbulls), as well as a single strange shoe sitting at the back door.

The murder took place in a dope house but according to Singleton all of the guns and drugs had been moved from the house prior to the incident.

Singleton was defended by his manager who advised him to claim insanity. In California you cannot claim insanity if you willingly took the substance that led you to commit the act you are on trial for.

The rapper believes that his manager/lawyer set him up for his own personal gain. “Grimes could have gotten a mistrial. Instead, he said ‘Lurch did it.’ Grimes distanced himself from me and made a deal with the D.A. for another case he wanted to have favors on". Oddly, a little more than half a year after Big Lurch was sentenced, a California court ordered Milton Grimes to pay $1.2 million to the mother of a man fatally shot by Gardenia police — after a jury found Grimes “failed to properly litigate her civil wrongful death case” against the police department.

Singleton was unhappy with his defense and had this to say about his trial:

“Make the jury hate the defendant, and the jury will convict. The teeth marks on Tynisha’s body didn’t match mines. My lawyer Milton Grimes didn’t say that in court. They convicted me over lunch break. There wasn’t no day deliberation, there wasn’t even an hour.”

Lyrics from Singleton's track "I Did It To You" were used against him in court. On the track, Singleton raps about murder, torture, and people such as Jason Vorhees and Jeffrey Dahmer.

While Singleton was in prison, his record label released both his debut album "It's All Bad", making the album cover a picture of him holding a skull on a platter and released a documentary about him called "Drugs Made Me Do It". Both done without his permission.