Suge Knight’s Death Row Records imprint has been
removed from a wrongful death civil lawsuit filed last week in Los Angeles by
the mother of a woman who was cannibalized by rapper Antron "Big Lurch"
Singleton.
Suge Knight came forward this week to deny allegations
in the civil suit that Death Row had provided PCP to "encourage [him] to
act out in an extreme violent manner so as to make him more marketable as a
‘gangsta rap’ artist."
"I don’t know this guy…. Nobody from our
company knows this guy," Knight told Reuters on Tuesday (April 15). "I
never even heard the guy rap…a lot of people out there want to have a production
deal (and) think that they have a production deal even if they don’t."
The lawsuit was filed by Carolyn Stinson, the
mother of 21 year-old Tynisha Ysais. Ysais was murdered by Singleton. When authorities
found her body, her chest was ripped open and her lungs were partially eaten.
An examination of Singleton’s stomach contents
revealed foreign human flesh. Singleton is currently on trial and could face
the death penalty if convicted.
"We did our reinvestigation into this matter,
and it seems that our information received earlier was wrong. Death Row and
Tha Row had no part in this, and we’re filing a dismissal with respect to them
today," Stinson’s attorney, Winston Kevin McKesson, told Billboard.
The suit will proceed against Stress Free Records,
Singleton’s bodyguard and Ysais’ boyfriend.
McKesson says the suit will proceed against the
remaining defendants, which include Stress Free Records, Singleton’s bodyguard,
and Ysais’ boyfriend.
"Every time there are problems on the West
Coast, people always try to involve Suge. What’s unfortunate about this is that
it’s difficult to un-ring a bell," a spokesperson for Tha Row added.