Fox Island man sentenced to 7.5 years for killing girlfriend who allegedly asked to die

A 30-year-old man was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison for killing a woman who allegedly asked to be murdered.

In 2025, the suspect, Lars Eugene Nelson, shot 27-year-old Sophie Tinney in the head three times while she slept inside a Fox Island home on Easter Sunday last year. According to Nelson’s defense attorney, Tinney spent years planning her own death.

Tinney was allegedly tied to anti-natalism, an extreme philosophy that views bringing life into the world as causing suffering and views even existing as immoral. Nelson’s defense attorney even stated that Tinney was “close friends” with Guy Bartkus, according to The Tacoma News Tribune, a 25-year-old who carried out the bombing of a fertility clinic in Southern California — one of the largest bombings ever investigated by the FBI in Southern California.

According to The New York Times, Tinney’s death might have prompted the bombing.

“I’ve never related to someone so much, and can’t imagine I ever would again,” Bartkus allegedly wrote about Tinney in his manifesto.

Nelson was Tinney’s boyfriend since 2020 after previously dating for a few years in high school. Nelson and his defense attorney claimed Tinney tried to die by suicide multiple times before pivoting to ask Nelson for assistance.

Nelson reported her death as a suicide

After Nelson killed Tinney, he contacted the police reporting his 27-year-old girlfriend’s death. After investigating the scene, detectives said they found evidence that did not align with the reported suicide.

“It wasn’t until those detectives and forensics got in there to do a further investigation that things just weren’t matching up,” Carly Cappetto, the public information officer for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, told KIRO Newsradio.

Nelson was subsequently arrested for second-degree murder.

KIRO 7 spoke with neighbors after Nelson’s arrest, as the news shocked many families within the tight-knit community.

“Very surprised that it happened because we’re not used to having anything happen on the island that’s negative or dangerous,” Anne Burmark, a neighbor, said. “The common expression is very sad that this happened.”

“This was very unusual,” neighbor Wes Burmark said. “Very sad, very unusual behavior for the island.”

Sentencing below the standard range

Both sides asked the judge to go below the standard sentencing range.

“She had wanted to die for years,” Nelson’s defense attorney said in court, according to The Tacoma News Tribune. “She set out on a course of action to convince Lars to do just exactly that. In her quotes, she recognized how he fought against it, and she said, ‘I think I can break him. I tried to get him to come with me. Obviously because then he wouldn’t refuse so much,’ and she questioned why he was holding back.”

Nelson’s defense claimed Tinney would consistently pressure Nelson to help her end her life.

The standard range for a case like this ranges between 10 and 18 years in prison for someone with no prior criminal history.

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