Mom who had her unborn baby 'cut from her womb by woman she met on Craigslist' testifies in court

dailymail.co.uk

A Colorado woman who had her baby cut from her womb by someone she had met through a Craigslist ad says she told herself she had to survive for the sake of her unborn daughter - and tried to fight back.

But Michelle Wilkins, 27, who was almost eight months pregnant, said Dynel Lane continued to choke and beat her in the March 18, 2015, attack, and she eventually lost consciousness. 

When she came to, she said, she was bleeding profusely from her abdomen and called 911.

Wilkins' child didn't survive - something Wilkins learned the next day in the hospital. Lane was charged with attempted first-degree murder, assault and unlawful termination of a pregnancy. 

The case brought calls for a murder charge, which the district attorney said he couldn't bring. 

Testimony in the trial began Wednesday.

Wilkins testified she went to Lane's home in Longmont in response to a Craigslist ad offering free maternity clothes.

Wilkins said she and Lane chatted for more than an hour, which she acknowledged seemed strange, before Lane took her to the basement to look at baby clothes.

Wilkins said when she tried to leave, Lane began hitting, pushing and choking her.

'I just remember asking her why she was doing that,' Wilkins said. 

She told Lane she loved her, hoping she would stop.

Lane replied: 'If you love me, you'll let me do this,' and stabbed her in the neck with a piece of broken glass, Wilkins testified.