Man Pleads Guilty To Murdering, Dismembering Mom Of 3 He Met Online

RENTON, WA — The 38-year-old man accused of murdering and dismembering a Seattle-area mother of three whom he met online has pleaded guilty to all charges.

John Charlton is due to be sentenced on January 5 for the murder of 40-year-old Ingrid Lyne. Lyne, who worked as a nurse at Seattle’s Swedish Medical Center, was last seen by friends and family on April 8, 2016.

Her head, arm with a hand, lower leg and foot were later found in garbage bags by a homeowner — and more remains were found inside a waste container at a recycling center.

On April 9, her ex-husband, who planned to drop her three daughters off for a visit, became concerned when he was unable to contact her. Her mother, Jorga Bass, located Charlton’s phone number and texted him to ask for information. His answers seemed vague, and eventually, he stopped replying.

Seattle police detectives searched Lyne’s home on April 10 and found a 15-inch pruning saw near the bathtub, and an empty box of plastic garbage bags identical to the ones containing Lyne’s body parts. According to prosecutors, investigators also found bits of human flesh and blood in the bathtub.

Charlton told police that he had gone with Lyne to a Mariners game, then back to her home in the suburb of Renton. Police believe that Charlton killed Lyne inside her residence, and then allegedly dumped her body parts in recycling and garbage bins around the area.

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office later determined that Lyne died as the result of homicidal violence.

Prosecutors are recommending a sentence of 27 years and 9 months — the maximum possible — for Charlton. He has been charged with first-degree murder and theft of a motor vehicle.

According to court documents, Charlton claimed that he was so drunk that he could not remember how he and Lyne returned to her residence or what happened when they got home.

“He said he believed they had sex and said Lyne was acting ‘weird,’ but could not or would not provide further details,” he said, according to court documents.

Charlton has a long criminal history that includes convictions for aggravated robbery, felony theft, grand theft motor vehicle, fourth-degree assault, and third-degree larceny. His parents also sought a restraining order against him in 2006, saying he had taken the movie Hannibal from a shelf and told his mother she should watch it and “beware.”

Lyne’s friends stated that she and Charlton, who each had dating profiles on sites including Plenty Of Fish, had been dating for six to eight weeks. He was described by police as being a homeless day laborer.

According to a now-deleted Facebook page, Charlton is a graduate of West Auburn High School. The page described him as being “self-employed.”

“She didn’t see any red flags. She would have never, ever, ever taken a risk if she thought there was (anything wrong),” Lyne’s friend Nancy Sivatilli told KOMO News.

Read more: New York Post