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Man accused of killing, dismembering Seattle mom pleads not guilty

Click to play video: 'Man accused of killing, dismembering Seattle woman pleads not guilty'
Man accused of killing, dismembering Seattle woman pleads not guilty
WATCH ABOVE: Man accused of killing, dismembering Seattle woman pleads not guilty – Apr 27, 2016

SEATTLE  — A man accused of killing and dismembering a woman in her suburban home then dumping her remains in a Seattle recycling bin pleaded not guilty Wednesday to murder and theft charges.

A King County judge also raised bail for John Robert Charlton, 37, from $2 million to $5 million at his arraignment.

Charlton was charged in the death of Ingrid Lyne, a 40-year-old mother of three from Renton. He is also suspected of stealing her vehicle.

Authorities say Charlton dismembered Lyne in her home before driving her remains to Seattle. Her head, arm with a hand, lower leg and foot were found in garbage bags by a homeowner, police say.

READ MORE: More remains found from missing Seattle mom

Additional remains have been found in a waste container and recycling center.

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Lyne was reported missing on April 9. Charlton has told police the two went to a baseball game then back to Lyne’s home and he ended up spending the night on a street in Seattle. He said he couldn’t recall how he got back to Seattle because he had been too intoxicated to remember.

WATCH: Seattle mother dismembered in own home

 

Click to play video: 'Seattle mother dismembered in own home'
Seattle mother dismembered in own home

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.

Charlton’s parents sought a restraining order against him in 2006, saying he had taken the movie “Hannibal” — about a serial killer — from a shelf and told his mother she should watch it and “beware.”

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READ MORE: Authorities: Seattle mother dismembered in home, body parts dumped

The order was later dismissed at the parents’ request.

A statement released by Charlton’s public defenders, Brian Beattie and Anna Samuel, said his parents attended the Wednesday arraignment “to support him.”

“What stands out to us is the lack of evidence connecting Mr. Charlton to these acts,” the statement says. “We ask that the community not jump to conclusions during this tragedy.”

King County judge Julie Spector on Wednesday ordered media to show Charlton from only the neck down in order to not prejudice a potential jury trial.

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