The woman who was brutally attacked, stabbed, and had her baby removed from her womb earlier this month has now left the hospital and continues her recovery from her Colorado home.
Michelle Wilkins, 26, was attacked when she showed up to purchase baby clothes from 34-year-old Dynel Lane who advertised the clothes in a Craigslist ad that is thought to have been made to specifically target pregnant women. The 7-month-pregnant Wilkins was then stabbed, beaten, and cut open by Lane to remove her baby.
When Lane brought the baby to a local hospital claiming that it was her own and she had had a miscarriage, medical staff observed that the female baby was already dead and they called authorities.
The 911 call from Wilkins was released earlier this week in which the assaulted woman describes to authorities what happened. She says in the call that she didn't know why she was attacked, and she was stabbed with both a knife and a broken glass. Lane put Wilkins in the basement of her own home before leaving her for dead, but she was able to barely stay conscious long enough to instruct the police on where to find her.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with Michelle's medical bills, and so far, the campaign has earned over $56,000 in just four days. But on the page, we also get some good news.
"Michelle is out of the hospital and in a safe place," her family wrote. "As you might imagine, we're navigating troubled waters one would never want to see in a lifetime. The issues to be dealt with now are coming like tsunamis, but she has family and friends by her side every step of the way (not to mention her beloved dog Jade, who is now permanently glued to her side).
"What we didn't anticipate, and for which we will eternally grateful, is the outpouring your generous donations and heartfelt messages. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts."
Research on the attacker has unveiled a possible motive for the attack. Dynel Lane had reportedly lost a 19-month-old child in July of 2002 due to drowning, according to a relative speaking with the Associated Press.
Lane also has two other young daughters and had registered on a pregnancy website saying that another baby was due on November 14, 2014, but it's not known whether or not she had the baby.
Charges against Lane are expected to include attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, and child abuse, but she may not be held directly accountable for the death of the child, thanks to Colorado's abortion laws that define life as beginning at birth.
Sarah Zagorski, the Executive Director of Colorado Citizens for Life commented on the heart-breaking situation. "This horrific case highlights the need for an Unborn Victims of Violence law in Colorado, which would recognize the unlawful killing of an unborn child as homicide," she said. "This woman's baby was viable and suffered a cruel and violent death. Colorado should have laws punishing perpetrators of these innocent, defenseless victims."
Dynel Lane is currently being held in a Boulder, Colorado prison to face official charges on April 1. Her bail is set at $2 million.
