Singleton Pleads Innocent To Murder

Convicted rapist Lawrence Singleton pleaded innocent Wednesday to murder in the death of prostitute Roxanne Hayes. Prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty.

Singleton, who raped a teenage hitchhiker and chopped her arms off with an axe in California 19 years ago, is accused of fatally stabbing Hayes last month.

“They framed me the first time, but this time I did it,” Singleton, 69, said on his way to jail Feb. 19, just after his arrest. He was still jailed Wednesday without bond.

His Tampa arrest came 10 years after he was paroled for the rape, and residents in several northern California towns drove him from the region with protests.