What we know about Guy Bartkus, suspect in Palm Springs fertility clinic bombing
(This story has been updated with new information).
The 25-year-old man who the FBI says detonated a powerful car bomb outside of a Palm Springs fertility clinic was apparently motivated by his belief that life is pointless, and pushed to act by the killing of a family member who shared those views and asked her boyfriend to shoot her in her sleep.
Online postings suggest Guy Edward Bartkus targeted the clinic, motivated by both "pro-mortalist" ideologies, which argue that life should be ended as soon as possible because it only results in suffering and death, and "anti-natalism," the belief that having children is unethical because it only exposes more people to future suffering and death.
An investigation by The Desert Sun and The Arizona Republic found Bartkus chose to die after the shooting of a woman whom he called his "best friend."
Bartkus, who authorities said is believed to have died in the blast Saturday, lived in a Twentynine Palms neighborhood that was evacuated and searched after the bombing.
FBI Assistant Director Akil Davis of the Los Angeles Field Office said Sunday investigators were "fairly confident" that they had identified Bartkus from his remains.
He said investigators believe Bartkus targeted the fertility clinic based on his online posts and an apparent "manifesto" they were reviewing.
"The subject had nihilistic ideations, and this was a targeted attack against the IVF facility," he said. "We are treating this as an intentional act of terrorism."
Davis, however, did not share any details about Bartkus or his background.
A website purporting to be made by the clinic bomber explains his views by saying in part, "...your death is already a guarantee, and you can thank your parents for that one. All a promortalist is saying is let's make it happen sooner rather than later."
Davis would not confirm whether the website was linked to Bartkus, only that the website was part of the investigation.
The website contained a link urging people to download "the recorded stream of my suicide & bombing of an IVF clinic," but the file contained only 30 minutes of audio of a man talking about the reasons for his pro-mortalist beliefs.
Davis said based on evidence at the scene, Bartkus was attempting to livestream the detonation. But it was not clear whether he succeeded.
Davis said authorities are tracking the "possible manifesto out there."
‘What finally put you over the edge?’
On the "pro-mortalist" website, Bartkus wrote how the death of a woman named Sophie was the catalyst for his decision to bomb the fertility clinic.
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“Recently my best friend Sophie killed herself (she got the guy she was living with to shoot her while she was sleeping, her preferred method),” Bartkus wrote.
They had agreed that if one of them died, the other would soon follow, he said.
His description of the death matched the April 20 shooting death of Sophie Tinney, 27, in Fox Island, Wash.
Prosecutors alleged in court filings that Tinney might have convinced her boyfriend, Lars Eugene Nelson, to pull the trigger. He was charged with second-degree murder and released on a $750,000 bond.
Tinney's family in Washington could not be reached for comment on May 18.
Bartkus’ mother used to have the same last name, Tinney, suggesting Sophie Tinney and Guy Bartkus may have been related. But the nature of that relationship, and whether it was by blood or marriage, was unclear. Dianne Tinney could not be reached for comment.
“I don't think I really knew how much it was going to affect me," Bartkus wrote under the heading, "What finally put you over the edge?"
Bartkus linked to several online sites, including Reddit, Tumblr and TikTok where Sophie Tinney called herself an “antinatalist.” The Reddit account was marked as suspended on May 18.
In a TikTok post explaining her views, Tinney said children can’t consent to being born.
“Therefore, it’s not really cool to do,” she said in a video. “I don’t believe it is in anyone’s best interest to go from a state of non-existence to a state of existence because I don’t believe happiness and pain are separate metrics."
Happiness is just the absence of suffering and you don't feel pain or boredom if you don't exist, Tinney said, adding that her views are becoming "more mainstream."
Bartkus said on his website that he and Tinney were both anti-sex (not asexual), misandrists (opposed to men), VegAntinatalist (vegan and against procreation), and negative utilitarian (against suffering).
He said they both had borderline personality disorders.
"I've never related to someone so much, and can't imagine I ever would again," he wrote. "It's just too much of a loss when there's nobody else you really relate to significantly."
‘I don’t know what snapped’
Property records show Bartkus has longtime family ties to San Bernardino County. He appeared to live with his mother in Twentynine Palms and might have spent some of his childhood in Waterbury, Conn.
Bartkus' father said Sunday he didn't know what motivated his son to commit the bombing. Richard Bartkus said he and Guy's mother divorced about 10 years ago and he'd had little contact with his son since.
"Guy had a good heart. He always looked out for people, especially children. I don't know what snapped," Richard Bartkus told The Desert Sun while sitting on his couch in his living room in Yucca Valley.
He described his son as a young man who worked monitoring special-needs children on school buses. Guy was also a "computer whiz" who built his own computers as early as the age of 9 and was an avid gamer, playing Halo and other titles, Richard Bartkus said.
He did not know of any serious physical or mental health conditions his son might have had.
But he recalled a time when Guy Bartkus was about 8 and had been playing with matches outside the family's home in Flamingo Heights north of Yucca Valley. Richard Bartkus got home from work and Guy attempted to kick a fire he started under a shed.
The shed and their house caught fire, and the family lost everything, Richard Bartkus said.
He said Guy went to Landers Elementary School and Yucca Valley High School.
Authorities were still working to find out more about Bartkus. The FBI's Davis asked people with information to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or go to fbi.gov/palmspringsvehicleexplosion.
They said the car used in the explosion was a 2010 silver Ford Fusion with the license plate 8HWS848 and that they want to know more about where he was in the hours before the bomb went off.
Davis, who called the bombing an act of terrorism, said authorities were not looking for any other suspects, indicating they believe Bartkus acted alone.
Embryos at clinic saved
Davis also said none of the embryos stored at the fertility clinic were damaged in the bombing, something he credited to the quick work of Palm Springs firefighters and other first responders.
"Good guys, one; bad guys, zero," he said.
American Reproductive Centers was set to resume patient care on Monday at a temporary location in Palm Desert. Though the in vitro fertilization lab in Palm Springs is functional and their patients' embryos are safe, the surgery center building was "completely obliterated," Dr. Maher Abdallah told The Desert Sun on Sunday.
Opened in 2006, the clinic is the Coachella Valley's "first and only full-service fertility center and IVF lab."
"We will return to our Palm Springs location once renovation is complete. We will bounce back better than ever before," Abdallah wrote. "Helping families is our calling. Nothing will derail this project. We forgive the perpetrator. Our focus remains on life and hope."
Robert Anglen is an investigative reporter for The Arizona Republic. Reach him at robert.anglen@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X @robertanglen.
Christopher Damien covers public safety and the criminal justice system for The Desert Sun. He can be reached at christopher.damien@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Guy Bartkus, suspect in Palm Springs bombing: What we know
