News

Actions

Stranger cut pregnant woman’s baby from womb when she answered Craigslist ad

Posted at 7:46 PM, Mar 18, 2015
and last updated 2015-03-19 14:51:53-04

LONGMONT, Colo. — A 26-year-old Colorado woman who was seven months pregnant is recovering in the hospital after she was stabbed in the stomach while answering a Craigslist ad for baby clothes and her fetus was then cut from the womb.

Officers were called to the 1600 block of Green Place around 2:40 p.m. Wednesday after a reported stabbing.

Courtesy: Boulder County Sheriff's Office via KDVR

Courtesy: Boulder County Sheriff's Office via KDVR

“Officers arrived on scene and could hear a female calling for help inside the home. Officers entered the home and located a female who had been beaten and stabbed in the stomach,” Longmont police said. “It was later learned, the female was pregnant and her baby had been removed. The victim was transported to the Longmont United Hospital where she underwent surgery and is expected to recover.”

MORE: Dynel Lane arrest report

Police said the victim went to the suspect’s house to buy baby clothes she found in an ad on Craigslist.

In a statement obtained by KDVR, police said, “It was later learned, the female was pregnant and her baby had been removed. The victim was transported to the Longmont United Hospital where she underwent surgery and is expected to recover.”

Police said the suspect, 34-year-old Dynel Lane, went to a local hospital with the baby and told workers she had a miscarriage.

The baby did not survive.

Police said Lane's husband drove her and the baby to the hospital but it’s not clear if he was inside the home when the attack happened, police said.

The husband is not under arrest.

Officials said they do not believe the women knew each other.

The victim managed to call 911 after the stabbing and sounded barely conscious in calling for help.

LISTEN: 911 phone call from victim (Warning: This call may be upsetting to some listeners)

“She cut me. … I’m pregnant,” the victim could be heard telling the dispatcher.

Lane was arrested on a number of felony charges, including attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault and child abuse knowingly/reckless resulting in death.

She is due in court Thursday.

A baby registryin Lane’s name showed she was pregnant last year and due to give birth in November.

Lane’s stepfather told KDVR that Lane told her family she was pregnant and on Wednesday, she told the family she “lost the baby.”

In 2002, Lane, then using the name Dynel Cruz, lost a 19-month-old son in Pueblo in a drowning incident, according to a story in the Pueblo Chieftain.

Lane previously held a certified nurse’s aide credential, according to the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies.

She held the credential from 2010 until it expired in January 2012.

No disciplinary actions were taken against her.

The Boulder County District Attorney’s Office will determine which charges to file.

“The issues involving an unborn child are complicated under Colorado law,” Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett said. “In most circumstances, if a child was not actually born alive, then homicide charges are not possible.”

Longmont officers are asking for the public’s help to determine if anyone else has responded to the Craigslist ad.

“We are wondering if any other mothers responded to the Craigslist ad for baby clothes,” Cmdr. Jeff Satur said in a news release. “The suspect represented herself as ‘D’ or Dynel. They may have gone to her address at 1620 Green Place, Longmont, Colorado.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Longmont police at (303) 651-8501.

MORE: Get the latest updates from KDVR