Kriti Mehrotra
Bounce, the only multi-platform entertainment network specifically for African Americans, premiered its first-ever original true-crime documentary series, ‘Dying To Be Famous: The Ryan Singleton Mystery.’ And to say that it is intriguing might just be an understatement. Chronicling the disappearance and death of Ryan Singleton, using footage his friends shot, along with exclusive interviews and new clues, it follows the events of his last few days and weeks alive in an attempt to piece together what exactly happened to him and why. Now, if you’re here curious to know all the details about this particular case, we’ve got you covered.
How Did Ryan Singleton Die?
Ryan Singleton, a 24-year old aspiring model and film producer from Atlanta, was determined to pursue fame in fortune in Hollywood with his closest friends. Together, they dreamed of being the “Black Entourage,” but it all came crashing down in 2013, when Ryan disappeared, never to be seen alive again. He had rented a car for a weekend trip and had driven from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. But the car broke down in the Death Valley when he was on his way back. Ryan was subsequently spotted and picked up by the California Highway Patrol and then dropped off at a gas station in Baker, California, safe and sound. A friend of his set out from Los Angeles to pick him up, but by the time he arrived in Baker, Ryan was nowhere to be found.
Ryan’s friend reported him missing as soon as he got back to the city, and a thorough search ensued. But it was only 74 days later that he was found, dead, in California’s Mojave Desert, about two miles away from the gas station. Ryan’s body was dumped, mutilated, and missing several organs, including his liver, kidneys, eyes, ribs, and heart. Of course, an autopsy was performed, but its report wasn’t very conclusive. His cause of death was listed as undetermined “due to advanced decomposition.” And his manner of death was ruled to be the same. The report also stated that Ryan’s head was “missing flesh down to bone on the right-side secondary to animal activity,” which was listed as the reason for the loss of his organs as well.
Who Killed Ryan Singleton?
The truth is, no one knows. Ryan’s mother, Iris Flowers, has been on a quest to find out what happened to her son ever since his body was found, but even with meticulous investigations, there have been no publicly known concrete leads, and no one has ever been charged in his death. Questions about the path Ryan chose for his career, along with who he talked to, and about what, during his stay in Las Vegas and even in the patrol car ride to Baker having a connection with his death have been raised over time. However, nothing has ever seemed suspicious enough. The one mystery that remains is what happened to Ryan after he arrived at the AM/PM gas station in Baker. And maybe, if that can be answered, Ryan’s death could be solved.
Before his disappearance and death, Ryan was thriving in his profession. He had left Georgia, Atlanta, at the age of 21 to move to New York City and make it big, and for him, it was going well. He got a few jobs here and there before landing a spot on the runway during New York’s Fashion Week, and shortly after, he set his sights on Hollywood. With some of his friends, Ryan packed up his stuff into a truck and moved west to Los Angeles. Together, they documented their journey with the hopes of one day making it into a documentary series called ‘Are We Famous Yet?’ But sometime later, Ryan left California and moved back to New York, where he got married to celebrity stylist Kythe Brewster, a man twice his age, in a wedding that his mother didn’t even know about.
Four months later, the couple split, and Ryan moved back home to be with Iris. She recalls that he was quite ominous during that time, saying things like, “Something bad is going to happen to me isn’t it?” and “I’ve done a lot of things to hurt a lot of people.” When she asked Ryan if he owed someone money, he said no, and when she tried to dig deeper, he changed the topic, and so, Iris never found out what her son was talking about. Two days later, Ryan abruptly left for Los Angeles, and she never saw him alive again. Yet, strangely, on the day he went missing, he called her up and asked her to send him $100. And then, Iris got a call from Ryan’s estranged husband. He told her that her son had called him, and it seemed like he was drunk, even going as far as to say that Ryan’s life could be in danger.
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