Oz True Crime: How Ryan Singleton's gruesome murder is linked to illegal organ trade chains

Oz True Crime revisits the death of a young model named Ryan Singleton, a case that can send chills down your spine. It’s not only devastating but also suspicious, as there’s still no clear answer about how he died. Was he really killed by animals, or was illegal organ trafficking somehow involved?

Singleton was a 24-year-old aspiring model and actor from Georgia who went missing in July 2013 while traveling in California. He was driving and when his car ran low on fuel near Death Valley/Baker, California Highway Patrol officers picked him up walking along Interstate 15 and dropped him at a gas station/convenience store.

He then called a friend to pick him up and when the friend arrived, Singleton wasn't there. He reported him missing and everyone, including the young man's family ad friends started looking for him. It was on September 22, 2013 when Ryan Singleton's mother received a call from the deputy office and was told that her son had been found.

Little did the mother know that her life was about to change forever as Ryan wasn't found alive, but dead. And then, his organs including heart, lungs, a few ribs and eyes, were missing.

Forensic experts said that it was likely animal activity or scavengers who ate his organs, but Singleton's mother recently said in Oz True Crime that she believes her son was killed. She thinks that someone might have taken out his organs for illegal trading.

Want to know more on this case and what else Iris, Ryan's mother shared in the true crime series? Keep reading.

Oz True Crime features Ryan Singleton's mother as she believes her son was murdered for his organs

At just 24, when Ryan Singleton was doing great with his life, he suddenly disappeared and was found dead after almost 74 days. His mother recently joined the Oz True Crime series and was interviewed by Dr. Oz and revealed what she feels about her son's death.

The model went missing in July 2013, and it was in September of the same year when two joggers found his remains roughly 1.5-2 miles from the gas station on an unpaved road and desert wash area that had been searched earlier. After it was confirmed that he's Ryan, his mother was informed.

The body was heavily decomposed and partially skeletonized (weighing around 50 pounds). Missing items included the eyes, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and some ribs/thoracic structures, along with flesh from the head and even his tattoos were removed.

Iris explained in Oz True Crime that the first pathology report of Ryan Singleton's dead body said it was animal activity. However, it didn't sit well with the mother, and it took almost three years and seven months to get the official copy of the autopsy report.

When Iris looked into them, she found "conflicting um examinations done," and then she got to know from one anthropologist, a forensic specialist, that animals were likely involved, and then another examination from an anthropologist said that bones were not tampered with or it didn't exactly look like scavengers ate Ryan's body.

Since Dr. Oz previously discussed the black market and illegal trading of organs in the same Oz True Crime series episode, he asked Iris what questions she still has about her son's death, to which she questioned how long her son was out in the desert.

She also asked how it is possible that animals were smart enough to identify all his tattoos and take them off from his body, as those could have easily helped in identifying the person. Iris said:

"... To me it feels like murder. It feels like someone took my son, killed him, and took his organs out. My son could not have taken his own organs out of his body. It's impossible. Something happened."

As seen on Oz True Crime, the mother is seeking answers, as she does not believe that it was animals who killed her son. According to her, there's a possibility of illegal organ trade and if there's someone who knows the truth, they must tell her.

Oz True Crime: Licensed therapist Tia Brown reveals three major ways of entry in organ black marketing

Before Dr. Oz interviewed Singleton's mother, he invited investigator and licensed therapist Tia Brown to discuss the black marketing of organs. She said:

"First of all, I have to say like most people I assume I had no idea that it was even illegal to sell organs. It's not something that you even really think about. But the Oregon black market is booming."

Brown further mentioned that there are three ways in which organ harvesters can enter into this black market. First, some individuals voluntarily offer to sell their own organs, usually because of severe financial difficulties or desperation for money.

The second way she explained in the Oz True Crime episode is that there are people who are forced, threatened, and manipulated. They are coerced into providing organs without having a real choice.

And then the third way is brokers, who act as middlemen. They connect people who need organs with those willing or pressured to supply them while taking a share of the money involved. According to Brown, these different pathways show how complex illegal organ trade networks can be.

After explaining these routes, she raises a larger and more disturbing question: whether some people may also be kidnapped or killed for organs, a possibility that programs like Oz True Crime investigate through cases such as Ryan Singleton's.

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