When a 26-year-old pregnant woman was stabbed, the 34-year-old female suspect, Dynel Catrece Lane, removed the unborn baby and was driven to the hospital by the husband. The 7-month-old unborn child died, but prosecutors are now saying they may have difficulty charging Lane with first-degree murder due to complications related to abortion laws.
In a related report by the Inquisitr , the pregnant woman was attacked after responding to a Craigslist ad for baby clothes.
“We’ve made some requests of Craigslist to try to freeze that account,” Longmont Police Commander Jeff Satur said, according to KENS . “At this point, we don’t want to give away too much, because we don’t want it removed.”
Police released a statement explaining the circumstances of the attack.
“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. 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.”
Satur says Dynel Catrece Lane showed up at the hospital with the deceased baby, claiming the death was the result of a miscarriage. The pregnant woman’s husband drove the alleged Craigslist killer to the hospital, but at this time, police do not consider him a suspect and he was not arrested. Police believe he “went into this unknowingly” and it’s believed that the pregnant woman and Lane did not know each other personally.
The Longmont police commander says Lane was arrested on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, and child abuse knowingly resulting in death. But Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett says the first-degree murder charges have not officially been applied due to complications involving abortion laws.
“Issues involving an unborn child are complicated under Colorado law,” Garnett said, according to the Washington Post . “In most circumstances, if a child was not actually born alive, then homicide charges are not possible.”
More information has come out about Dynel Catrece Lane. According to ABC 7 News , the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies shows Lane holds an expired certified nurse aide license, which might explain how she was capable of forcibly removing the unborn child from the pregnant mother. Lane is listed as having two children of her own, and she previously registered on a pregnancy website. The baby registry says her own baby was due November 14, 2014.
It’s possible Dynel Catrece Lane may still face first-degree murder charges. Her first court appearance is scheduled for Thursday afternoon, but prosecutors have up to 48 hours to formally charge the suspect. They may ask for an extension based upon the complications related to Colorado’s abortion laws.
