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Woman who removed fetus from mother faces 100 years in prison

Source: Xinhua | March 28, 2015, Saturday | Online Edition

THE Colorado woman accused of stabbing a pregnant woman and removing her 7-month-old fetus was charged Friday with eight counts of felony and faces potentially more than 100 years in prison.

Dynel Lane, 34, however, was not charged in the death of the fetus. Charges include attempted murder and the unlawful termination of a pregnancy.

Boulder County District Attorney Stanley L. Garnett said Friday that he was unable to file a murder charge under Colorado state law "without proof of a live birth."

"A prosecutor cannot file murder charges when a baby who is killed has not lived outside the body of the mother. For similar reasons, I cannot bring charges of child abuse resulting in death."

"Aurora was still, but her mouth was open and she was not breathing," Garnett said, who added that investigators found her lungs had not inflated. "Aurora" was the name of the fetus.

A lot of people wanted homicide charges filed against Lane for the death of the fetus, Garnett said.

"She could get a long sentence and very well could die in prison," he said.

Police said Lane, a mother of two, used a Craigslist advertisement to lure Michelle Wilkins, 26, to her home to buy baby clothes on March 18 and then attacked the 7-month pregnant mother before using a three-inch knife to slice her open and take her baby.

David Ridley, Lane's husband, said he returned home from work and found his wife "covered in blood." He told police that the baby was heard "gasping for air" before it died.

Lane brought the lifeless fetus to hospital hours after it was taken out, claiming she had suffered a miscarriage. Police arrested her later that day.

Wilkins survived the attack and was released from hospital the next day.

Lane's felony charges are first-degree attempted murder (which includes two sentence enhancements), two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault, and first-degree termination of a pregnancy, according to the District Attorney's office.

The attempted murder charge alone carries a possible sentence of 16 to 48 years. The unlawful termination of a pregnancy charge has a 10-year to 32-year term.

The exact cause of the fetus' death is unknown, but should be revealed when the final autopsy report is released in six to eight weeks, Garnett said.

Lane remains held in Boulder County Jail under a US$2 million bond. 

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