John Charlton: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

A mother of three went out on a date to a Seattle Mariners game with a man she met online. A day later her remains were found in a recycling bin. Police in Seattle announced on April 11 that 37-year-old John Charlton had been taken into custody in connection to the death of Ingrid Lyne, 40. She was last seen on the night of April 8 when she went out on a date with Charlton to a baseball game.

The alarm was raised around 10 a.m. April 9 when her ex-husband couldn’t contact her. He had planned to drop their children off with her. Her mother, Jorga Bass, located Charlton’s phone number as Lyne and her daughter shared a Verizon account. She texted him and asked him for information about Lyne but he was evasive and eventually stopped replying.

He made his first court appearance on the afternoon of April 12 after his arrest on April 11. Charlton’s bail was set at $2 million after he was formally accused of second degree murder. The judge in the hearing made it clear that reporters were not allowed to photograph Charlton’s face.

Here’s what you need to know:

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1. Lyne Was Identified After Her Head Was Found in a Recycling Bin

Several of Ingrid Lyne’s body parts were found inside of recycling bin on April 9. The Seattle Times reports that her head was found in the recycling bin in the Central District of the city.

Homicide cops learned that Lyne had been reported missing from the city of Renton, southeast of Seattle, the night before. They used a photo to “tentatively” identify her, according to the Times. The parts were dumped in the recycling bin either late on April 8 or early on April 9.

KIRO reports that the body parts were in plastic bags. A law enforcement source told the station that cops do not believe Lyne was killed in the neighborhood. Authorities think she was killed inside of her Renton home.

CSI investigators found pieces of Lyne’s body close to her bathtub, according KOMO reporter Kristen Drew.

Police arrested Charlton on the morning of April 11. Alison Grande with KIRO reported that police were still searching for Lyne’s SUV, a Toyota Highlander after Charlton was taken into custody. It was found late on the night of April 11 in the downtown area of Seattle.

During Charlton’s court appearance a prosecutor said, according to Fox Seattle’s Brandi Kruse, “It appears she was murdered in (her) home and transported in her own car.” Kruse added that the prosecutor said that Charlton slept on a Seattle sidewalk on the night of Lyne’s death and that he’s claiming memory loss.

The probably cause documents in the case say that Charlton told detectives he had been in Lyne’s house on the night she was last seen. He said he assumed the pair had sex but was so drunk he couldn’t remember. Cops say that Charlton told them he thought Lyne drove him back to Seattle. He said she told him he couldn’t stay the night because her kids were coming over the next day.

Court records in the case state:

During Charlton’s interview with Detectives, he denied having any injuries. However Detectives observed abrasions on his forehead, an injury to his lip, and to his chin. He also had scratches to his chest area and an abrasion on his left hand.

Documents state that Charlton said he spent the nights of April 9 and 10 at an ex-girlfriend’s home in Lake Stevens, Washington.

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2. Lyne & Charlton Had Been Dating for ‘6-to-8’ Weeks Prior to Her Death

Two of Lyne’s friends, Nancy Sivatilli and Crissa Franceschina, told KOMO News that the single mom and Charlton had been dating for “six to eight weeks” prior to her death. Sivatilli said, “She didn’t see any red flags. She would have never, ever, ever taken a risk if she thought there was (anything wrong).”

Friends told KIRO that Lyne’s other belongings, such as her wallet and cellphone, were found at her home in Renton.

Fox Seattle’s Janet Kim reported that investigators were seen searching Lyne’s home late into the night of April 11. At one point, Kim said she saw detectives carrying large boxes out of the house.

You can read the full documents in the case here:

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3. His Parents Say He Once Showed Them a Copy of the Movie ‘Hannibal’ on DVD & Told Them to Beware

In 2006, his parents filed a protection order against him after they said he tried to provoke a fight with them when he was drunk, reports Fox Seattle.

KOMO News reports, citing court records, that in one instance Charlton’s parents, Ray and JoAnn, told authorities that their son took the movie Hannibal from a shelf. JoAnn Charlton then says he told her to watch and “beware.”

The Seattle Times reports that he has a criminal history going back to 1997 when he was convicted of misdemeanor assault in King County. That same year he was found guilty of weed possession. In 2009, he was convicted of misdemeanor battery in Idaho.

Seattle PI later reported that Charlton was also convicted of felony theft in Montana in 2009, second-degree felony for aggravated robbery in Utah in 2006 and negligent driving in Washington state in 1998.

KOMO News reports that in October 2015 he was found guilty of driving without insurance in Washington State and was cited in February 2016 for driving his Ford Taurus without tags.

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4. He Describes Himself as a Christian & Free Thinker Who Wants to ‘Simply Make Friends’

A dating profile on the website Plenty of Fish that appears to belong to Charlton states that he is a Christian. It adds that he is looking to date but wanted “nothing serious.” Charlton also says that he’s “undecided/open” to having kids, his longest relationship was over two years and that he drinks socially. In the “About” section, he writes:

My intent here is to simply make friends and meet up for a good conversation…..not much of the crowded bar or club type. Mellow and quiet is more my scene.

For his “First Date,” Charlton says:

I’m not here for dating. Only friendships. This us not some scam to get laid either.

However, if we did meet up as friends we could grab coffee, beer, comedy show…etc. whatever people do as friends basically.

Charlton says on his POF page that he doesn’t have children, although on a Mingle 2 profile, which also appears to belong to him, he says he does have children but “they live away from home.”

Ingrid Lyne was last seen by her neighbors getting the mail from her mailbox in Renton on April 8. The next day John Charlton updated his Facebook page to say that he had begun studying at “All OF Them.”

According to his Facebook page, Charlton is from Seattle and a graduate of West Auburn High School. Although KIRO News reports that he’s a native of Idaho.

KIRO reports that Charlton’s last known address was in the city of Lake Stevens, a city a little under 40 miles north of Seattle and 50 miles north of Lyne’s residence in Renton.

He describes himself as being “Self-employed.” When he updated his page to say he was self-employed, Charlton also wrote, “Two steps from the bottom and rising!!!!!!”

On his Plenty of Fish page, Charlton answered the “Profession” question by saying “Student/Aquatics.”

The Seattle Times reports that prior to his arrest, Lyne’s friends were posting photos of Charlton on Facebook after she went missing.

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5. Lyne Was a Mother to 3 Daughters & Had Been Divorced Since 2014

Lyne was a nurse at the Swedish Medical Center and a mother of three daughters, according to her Facebook page. She had been divorced from her engineer ex-husband, Phillip Lyne, since 2014.

In a statement, which was first reported by KING5 anchor Lori Matsukawa, Lyne’s family said:

Our hearts are broken and can never be fully mended. While devastated, (her daughters) have been amazingly resilient. We couldn’t be more proud of how they (her daughters) have handled what will be the worst news of their young lives.

You can read the full statement here:

One of her neighbors, Edward Franceschina, told the Seattle Times about the last time he saw Lyne:

We all see each other and know each other and keep an eye out for each other. It was just an ordinary day. She said hi and I said hi back, just like any other day.

He added that Lyne had lived in the area for about 13 years. While another neighbor, Robert Croner, told KIRO about how he felt when he heard the news saying, “I almost got sick, I mean. I just talked to her. She was a nice lady with great kids.”

Since 2014, death penalty cases have been suspended in Washington State. A 2014 USA Today feature said that Governor Jay Inslee made the ruling after finding several problems with the way capital punishment was being carried out in the state. There are nine men on death row in Washington. The state has not executed anybody since 2001, reports the New York Times.