The Rapper that Murdered and Ate his Roommate

Antron “Big Lurch” Singleton was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

“I don’t believe in justice no more. Just us and God.” — Singleton in Rhyme and Punishment (2011)

( Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash)

Antron Singleton, aka Big Lurch, was originally from Dallas, Texas, but had moved to Los Angeles, California, where he was an aspiring rapper.

In April 2002, after suffering from amnesia from smoking PCP, Singleton found himself in jail. He had been arrested for murdering his roommate and eating her body parts.

The Murder of Tynisha Ysais

On April 10, 2002, 26-year-old Singleton and a group of friends were partying at his apartment, which Singleton referred to as a dope house. 21-year-old Tynisha Ysais, a mother of two, was also in attendance.

The group started to pass around a PCP pipe. In Rhyme and Punishment, Lurch recalls:

“We started smoking the PCP and they just kept feeding it to me, and feeding it to me. The next thing I remember is I woke up in jail with a murder.”

According to witness testimony, Singleton told everyone else to leave except for Ysais. It was at that point that he brutally tortured and killed her. Her body had many cut wounds, and her chest was carved open. Her body had bite marks, and it seems Singleton ate part of her lung.

When the police arrested Singleton, he was naked walking down the street. He was pulling his hair out and barking like a dog. He was covered in blood.

A medical examination after he was captured found human flesh inside his stomach that was from another person.

In a 2016 interview on VladTV, Singleton expresses that he experienced amnesia for almost two weeks after his arrest. It was only after that point that he learned he was in jail for murder. He had no memory of the murder or the night of April 10.

The Trial Strategy

According to Singleton, his trial was mishandled by his lawyer Milton Grimes. Singleton trusted Grimes because he was signed to his record label. He saw Grimes as a “Johnny Cochran” figure, a lawyer that could do no wrong.

Singleton alleges that Grimes’ strategy was to make him appear as deranged as possible to ensure a successful, not guilty plea on the reason of insanity. Evidence, such as the fact that the bite marks on Ysais’ body did not match Singleton, was not investigated further.

Singleton said that he had a blue-nosed pit bull at the time, and he thought it was likely that the bitemarks would have been attributed to the dog. But, that type of evidence did not fit into Grimes’ strategy of making Singleton appear insane.

According to Akilah Johnson of the Los Angeles Times, Grimes conceded that Singleton had slashed Ysais’ chest and chewed on her cheek.

The most convincing evidence was the fact that human flesh was found inside Singleton’s stomach. Everything pointed to the story that Singleton’s drug-intoxicated state from smoking excessive amounts of PCP had driven him to murder and cannibalize Ysais.

Insanity Defense

According to the California Penal Code, voluntary drug users can not plead not guilty by reason of insanity due to only the effects of drug intoxication. There needs to be at least one other factor, such as an underlying mental illness, for a judge to accept such a plea.

According to Singleton, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder years before the night of the murder, and Grimes knew about it but did not mention it in court. Singleton says Grimes knew about his mental illness because Grimes picked him up from the mental institution when he was diagnosed.

The only evidence submitted for the plea was that Singleton had PCP in his system, and PCP induced psychosis. The DA filed a motion to dismiss the plea, and the judge granted the motion.

According to Eric Malnic of the Los Angeles Times, a jury deliberated for less than an hour and found Singleton guilty of first-degree murder, torture, and aggravated mayhem. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Possible Set Up

Singleton presents a few details that could indicate he was set up. He says:

“They got me high on purpose to take advantage of me.”

He notes that the drug house where the party took place had been cleared out of drugs and guns before the police got there.

There was also an unidentifiable bloody handprint on a child scooter that was determined to have been used to hit Ysais in the back of the head. The handprint was not Singleton’s.

Strangely, the PCP levels found in Ysais’ system were very high. They were high enough where it seemed unlikely they could have entered her system through smoking alone.

Singleton thinks it is possible the people around him set him up, and his appeal case is currently open with the California 9th circuit court of appeals.

The Case

“Jason Vorhees, Michael Myers and Freddy Krueger, Jeffrey Dahmer, Charles Manson and all of your friends I’m fi’n ta school ya. ’Cause murder’s a hobby.” — “I Did It To You” by Big Lurch

Final Thoughts

The content of one of Antron “Big Lurch” Singleton’s songs was actually used in court against him. His album, It’s All Bad (2004), released after he was in prison, but prosecutors received special access to it and used his lyrics against him in court.

On the song “I Did It To You!” Big Lurch raps about both made up killers such as Jason Vorhees, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger and real-life serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer and Charles Manson. In my estimation, this song has nothing to do with Ysais’s murder and should not be considered evidence of anything.

Singleton was convicted of his crimes and will spend the rest of his life in prison unless overturned on appeal. His best bet may be that his lawyer mishandled the case, but that is an incredibly high bar to prove.

Singleton is sober in prison and spends his time reading, especially about the law. He is still doing what he can from prison to pursue music. Near the end of his interview on VladTV, he says, “Never do drugs.”