Not Guilty Plea For Woman Accused Of Cutting Baby From Womb
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4)- The woman accused in a brutal attack that left a Longmont woman critically injured and her unborn baby cut from her womb, has pleaded not guilty.
Dynel Lane appeared in court on Thursday morning where she pleaded not guilty. She has been charged with attacking Michelle Wilkins and removing her 8-month-old fetus after Wilkins responded to a Craigslist ad for baby clothes March 18. Wilkins survived the attack.
Lane has been charged with several counts including first-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and first-degree unlawful termination of pregnancy in the attack.
Her trial date has been set for Feb. 16, 2016 and is expected to last two weeks. Lane remains in custody.
Because prosecutors say there is no evidence the baby lived outside the womb, Lane was charged with unlawful termination of a pregnancy. Colorado does not have a fetal homicide law.
Wilkins was able to call for help about an hour after the attack. Lane was arrested shortly after showing up at a hospital claiming the baby was her own.
A spokesperson for Wilkins said she is currently in Colorado. It is the first time she has been here since being released from the hospital. She is visiting friends and some of the first responders who helped save her life.
"It is very difficult for her but she has received a lot of comfort from those friends and first responders," said Wilkins family spokesman Mike Perini.
Perini said she gathers strength from such visits and has been traveling, "Michelle is taking each day as it comes. Overall she is trying to put normalcy back in her life."
After her stay in Colorado Wilkins plans to spend time with family, "She knows she wouldn't be here, more than likely, if it hadn't been for the great response by this community."
