Police closed off 20th Ave and canvassed the area for more remains. (Image: Alex Garland for CHS)
Seattle Police were investigating suspected human remains found in the Central District Friday morning near the site where body parts belonging to Ingrid Lyne were discovered a week earlier. A SPD spokesperson said detectives were “confident” the remains were connected to the case of the 40-year-old mother’s murder.
A garbage collector for CleanScapes found the remains around 9:45 AM and called 911, police said.
Ingrid Lyne worked as a nurse on First Hill. (Image via Facebook)
The 20th Ave block south of E Union remained taped off Friday afternoon as police continued searching through bins and talking to neighbors in the area. Officials have said the Central District was only a dumping location in the case and that Lyne and her suspected murderer had no other known connections to the area.
UPDATE (4/18): More human remains believed to belong to Lyne were found at a SODO recycling center on Monday, according to SPD. Seattle Police were investigating the discovery at the 200 block of S Hanford St.
A homeowner at 21st and E Pine found Lyne’s head and other body parts in his recycling bin on Saturday. Two days later, police arrested Lyne’s boyfriend, 37-year-old John Charlton in Lake Stevens for her murder. The Snohomish County man is suspected of dismembering Lyne in her Renton home, then dumping her body parts. Upon searching Lyne’s home, detectives found bits of flesh and a 15-inch pruning saw in her bathroom.
King County prosecutors charged Charlton with first degree murder Wednesday.
Friends of Lyne, who worked as a nurse at Swedish Medical Center, said she had been dating Charlton for a short period of time after the two met online.
Prior to his arrest, Charlton told police he and Lyne had gone to a Mariners game on Friday and returned to her house in Renton. He said he was too drunk to remember what happened afterwards, but that Lyne likely drove him back to Seattle where he slept on a sidewalk. Detectives observed abrasions to his face and scratches to his hand and chest.
Charlton also told detectives that he was homeless, an alcoholic, and “not a normal person,” according to court documents. At the time of his arrest Charlton was staying with an ex-girlfriend in Lake Stevens, where he typically stayed two nights a week, she told police. She also said Charlton was a “mean drunk” and typically stayed in a shelter in Seattle.
Charlton has a criminal history stretching across six states that includes convictions for aggravated robbery and assault, and arrests for battery.
Suspected human remains found in container at 20/Marion. Detectives investigating probable connection to murder of Renton woman.
— Seattle Police Dept. (@SeattlePD) April 15, 2016
So sorry. The story is tragic and dark. I believe you mean 21st and E. Pine on Saturday, 20th and E. Spring for today.
This is my block. I feel so sick for Ingrid Lyne’s friends and family. Feels like living in a disturbed grave. I can’t imagine what they are going through. I’m sure it’s very little consolation, but the people who live behind the police tape have them in our thoughts.
First find was two blocks away; this one is around the corner. I walked my dogs right by this recycling bin this morning, completely oblivious.
There are so many children on that block who run up and down the sidewalks, across the street to one another’s homes, playing catch, reading comic books – it could have been any one of them who discovered this tragedy.
I was confused about how these were found today, since the suspect is in custody, and then I remembered: our recycling wasn’t collected last week. No one had any reason to empty the bin.
It’s too horrific to believe. I am grateful for my CD neighbors and community right now. Let’s continue to support one another as our neighborhood deals with its part of this tragedy.
I wonder why anyone who knew about this story did *not* check their bins.
I heard the story and didn’t think about it, doubt my father who lives a block away thought about it either. I am happy the home owner did not discover this, no ones needs that
I live at 25th and Marion. First thing we did last week when this news broke was check the bins on our block. I would have hated to find anything, but it’d be worth the personal trauma to help nail the killer.
I thought the same thing. I sure checked mine, although with some trepidation.
I grew up on 20th a block from this house. I know the owner and I was literally over there on Wednesday with my children. This is TERRIBLE. As long as I lived in this neighborhood, I have never seen anything like this.
I’m wondering why SPD didn’t canvas the recycle and garbage cans nearby the original find, knowing that not all of the victim had been found. Instead a whole week goes by before a civilian find more remains?
Exactly my thought as well. You’d think they’d have checked every bin in the CD and suspended pick up until they were all checked. That’s just sloppy police work.
The police did check all of the cans within two blocks of the original find on 21st, but this was just outside of the area that they checked. This is too gruesome to think about happening in real life, so glad he was caught so quickly.
Arm Chair policing is always my favorite to read. Since this was a first of it’s kind for Seattle, why didn’t we task the police to check every bin at every home in Seattle? I do know the force is looking for folks willing to protect and serve and it looks like we have two experts right here on this thread!
It makes sense to put in a reasonable effort to check other bins in the vicinity but not every bin in Seattle. It doesn’t take an expert to think of that, even if it were a first for Seattle, which it is not. Your exaggeration beyond a point of reasonable action and snarky sarcasm just make you sound like a jerk.
Oh please, just stop. I checked my bins also even though I was certain I removed them from the curb Friday evening and I am 6 blocks away. I really hope to check back and see others stating they saw SPD checking other bins in the area which remained at the curb on Saturday. This is such basic police work even those with zero training thought it might be helpful.
I believe that an earlier poster said that SPD did check other bins within a few blocks of the original find. How far were they supposed to go? Maybe you all could give the SPD some pointers as to what your expert opinion tells you?
It’s reasonable to ask why better canvassing of cans on very nearby blocks wasn’t done. It’s also reasonable to ask why the police didn’t start searching the recycling center immediately for the rest of the remains, vs. waiting until 4-18 after remains were discovered at the recycling center. They knew some parts had been put in a recycle can. The next logical step in finding all of the remains and possibly evidence would be to look in the recycle cans nearby and at the recycle collected already and dumped at the recycling center. Another standard bit of police work is to put an alert in NCIC (National Crime Information Center) for the vehicle AS SOON AS it is determined missing in connection with a murder. Had this been done in this case, the car would have been found far sooner vs. it being found only after a reader called in the public record of it being ticketed the Monday after the crime. Murder investigation is a tough job, but there seem to be some real holes in this one.