100 years for evil attacker who cut unborn baby from womb of pregnant woman
Photo: Reuters
Dynel Catrece Lane ripped the unborn baby from her victim’s womb
‘Craigslist attacker’ who cut unborn baby from womb of pregnant woman jailed for 100 years
Dynel Catrece Lane, 35, was convicted of attempted murder following the attack on Michelle Wilkins, whose unborn baby daughter died
She cut victim’s baby in what was described as ‘a well performed operation’ using a kitchen knife and broken glass
She stabbed expectant mum Michelle Wilkins with a kitchen knife and ripped out her unborn baby in the gruesome attack in March last year.
Wilkins, who was seven months pregnant , survived the stabbing at Lane’s home in Longmont, Colorado, but her baby daughter died.
The trial which renewed discussion of whether termination of a pregnancy can ever be considered murder, saw Lane convicted of attempted murder, assault and unlawfully terminating a pregnancy in February following a trial in Boulder.
Photo: Michelle Wilkins/FacebookMum-to-be: Michelle Wilkins proudly shows off her baby bump before the horrific attack
Boulder District Court Judge Maria Berkenkotter said the crime was brutal, shocking and cruel and ordered Lane to serve 100 years.
Passing sentence, the judge said: “People are hungry to hear from Ms. Lane. Hungry to hear why you did this.”
Prosecutors filed a charge of unlawful termination of a pregnancy, and not murder, against Lane after the Boulder County Coroner ruled the unborn child was a foetus rather than a baby because it had not taken a breath outside the womb.
Wilkins, now 27, wiped away tears as the verdict was delivered earlier this year.
“I do hope she finds the time to reflect on what she did,” Wilkins told reporters outside court.
Wilkins unborn baby girl died
Prosecutors said Lane faked a pregnancy and then, after her husband became suspicious about whether she in fact was carrying a child, she took out an advertisement on the website Craigslist to lure a pregnant woman with an offer of maternity clothes.
Wilkins testified that when she went to Lane’s home, responding to the advertisement, the older woman bludgeoned, stabbed and choked her until she passed out.
Lane’s weapons included a lava lamp that she used to bash Wilkins on the head and two kitchen knives that she cut the fetus from the victim’s womb.
When her husband returned home, Lane told him that she suffered a miscarriage and he rushed her to a hospital along with the dead foetus, police said.
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