Trial ordered for woman accused of cutting fetus from womb
BOULDER, Colo. -- A Colorado woman suspected of attacking a woman who was pregnant and cutting out her unborn baby will stand trial, a judge has ruled.
Dynel Lane is charged with first-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and first-degree unlawful termination of pregnancy, among other counts, in the March 18 attack on Michelle Wilkins, reports CBS Denver.
Wilkins, who was seven months pregnant at the time of the attack, went to Lane's home after Lane placed an ad selling baby clothes on Craigslist.
Longmont Police Lead Det. Stacey Graham testified Tuesday that when Wilkins first arrived, she and Lane spent about an hour talking about various subjects including her pregnancy. Then Lane asked Wilkins to come to the basement.
It was there that Lane allegedly attacked Wilkins, first with her hands, and then a lava lamp which she broke over Wilkins' head. Lane then allegedly used the lamp to stab Wilkins in the neck, before choking her and trying to smother her with a pillow.
Graham said Wilkins tried to stop Lane by telling her she loved her, to which Lane allegedly replied, "If you love me, you'll let me do this."
Police say Wilkins lost consciousness, and Lane cut her abdomen and removed the fetus.
Graham said Lane then took the baby, who did not survive, to Longmont United Hospital, where she appeared "shaken and hysterical" and had given the baby a name, claiming it was hers.
When Wilkins awoke and called 911, she believed her baby was still inside her, according to court testimony.
Graham said that when interviewed, Lane claimed Wilkins provoked the attack and that she believed Wilkins was dead when she removed the baby from her womb.
Lane kept her head and eyes down, not looking at the detective as she recounted the story. She remains in custody and is scheduled to return to court in July.
Wilkins and her family were not in court but a spokesperson for the family said they support the charges against Lane.
"We are confident in (the prosecutor's) ability to successfully see that justice is carried out in a manner proportionate with the circumstances surrounding the attack on Michelle and the resulting tragic death of her soon-to-be born daughter Aurora," said Michael Perini, the Wilkins family spokesperson.