Eight felony counts in case of baby cut from mother's womb

Prosecutors have charged a Longmont, Colo., woman with eight felony crimes, including attempted murder and unlawful termination of a pregnancy, for allegedly cutting a baby girl out of her mother’s womb.

Dynel Lane is accused of luring 26-year-old Michelle Wilkins to her home by advertising baby clothes in a Craigslist ad. Lane then allegedly cut open Wilkins’ stomach and removed the baby, which she planned to keep for her own. The baby, seven months along in gestation, died, but the mother survived. The baby’s name was Aurora.

The office of Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett announced Thursday it would not charge Lane with murder in the baby’s death. Colorado is one of 12 states without laws that allow homicide charges in cases that lead to the violent death of an unborn child. To file murder charges, the prosecutor must prove the baby survived birth. A preliminary autopsy of the baby did not find that the child “exhibited any signs of life outside the womb,” according to a statement by Boulder County Coroner Emma Hall. The coroner did not state the baby’s cause of death and said a final autopsy report was pending.

In a press conference today, Garnett emphasized he was duty-bound not to file an unsupported charge of murder under Colorado law, “regardless of my personal opinion of the law.”

And though some lawmakers have attempted to fill the legislative vacuum and protect unborn children, the two most recent attempts failed. The Democratic-controlled legislature killed a fetal homicide bill in 2013, and 65 percent of Colorado citizens voted against a personhood amendment last fall.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.