Murder of Ingrid Lyne

Ingrid Maree Lyne (née Rounsaville) was born on August 2, 1975. A 1993 graduate of Canyon del Oro High School in Tucson, Arizona, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Arizona in 1997. Lyne moved to Washington state in 2000 and lived there for about 13 years. Her divorce was finalized in 2014, and at the time of her death she was a nurse at Seattle's Swedish Medical Center and lived in Renton, Washington. Lyne met John Charlton through an online dating website, and the two had been dating for approximately one month when they attended a Seattle Mariners baseball game together on the evening of April 8, 2016 — later identified as the date of her death.

Lyne was last seen by friends on April 8, 2016, and was reported missing the following day. On April 9, her ex-husband arrived at her home to drop off their children; when no one answered, he called Lyne's mother, who let herself in with a key. Lyne's wallet, purse, and cellphone were found inside, but Lyne was not. Using the phone, her mother texted Charlton and then called police, who found blood, human tissue, and a pruning saw in Lyne's bathroom, along with trash bags identical to those later found containing her dismembered remains. Responding separately that day to a call from a homeowner, police also recovered several of Lyne's dismembered body parts — including a severed head, foot, arm, and leg — from a Seattle recycling bin approximately 10 miles (16 km) from her home. The King County coroner's office attributed her death to "homicidal violence." On April 15, a garbage collector found more severed body parts at a different location, though those remains had not been confirmed as a match to Lyne; on April 18, additional body parts were found at a third Seattle-area location and likewise awaited identification.

At the time of his arrest, Charlton was a homeless day laborer with a criminal record in six states, including convictions for aggravated robbery, felony theft, grand theft auto, assault, and third-degree larceny. Identified as the primary suspect in Lyne's death, he was arrested on April 11, 2016, and, two days later, formally charged with first-degree murder and auto theft; he was held in the King County Jail on $5 million bail. After his arrest, Charlton said he had blacked out on a downtown Seattle sidewalk and woke up with facial injuries and cuts to his body. On October 2, 2017, he appeared in a King County courtroom and pleaded guilty to all charges against him, including the murder and dismemberment of Lyne. On January 5, 2018, Charlton was sentenced to 27 years and 9 months in prison, the punishment recommended by prosecutors.

A GoFundMe fundraising campaign for Lyne's three daughters raised over $270,000 in the aftermath of her death. Her killing also prompted broader public discussion about the safety of meeting partners through online dating websites.