Update: Autopsy completed on baby who died after being cut from mother’s womb

The Boulder County Coroner’s Office has performed an autopsy on a 34-week-old girl who died after being cut from her mother’s womb.

The cause and manner of death are pending further investigation according to Coroner Emma Hall.

Police said they found the mother, Michelle Wilkins, 26, inside of a home in Longmont just before 3 p.m. Wednesday. They said Wilkins had been beaten and stabbed in the stomach.

It was later discovered that her baby was removed. Wilkins underwent surgery and is expected to recover, police said.

The 34-year-old female suspect, who’s been identified as Dynel Lane, was found at the same hospital with a deceased baby, reporting a miscarriage.

Court documents say that Lane told her family that she was pregnant.

The documents obtained Thursday say Lane asked her husband to accompany her to a pre-natal appointment on Wednesday.

However, when he came home to meet her, the documents say she reported having a miscarriage and showed him a baby gasping for breath in a bathtub.

Lane faced a judge Thursday and faces charges of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault and child abuse knowingly and recklessly resulting in death.

More charges are possible, though murder charges for the death of the baby are unclear.

“The issue of whether or not murder charges are appropriate involving a case involving the death of a fetus or late-term pregnancy is always a difficult issue,” said Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garrett. “Under Colorado law, essentially, there’s no way murder charges can be brought if it’s not established that the fetus lived as a child outside the body of the mother for some period of time.I don’t know the answer yet as to whether that can be established, what our facts are here. One of the issues that we will need to evaluate in connection with that is the medical information.”

A doctor told investigators the incision in the mother’s belly was well performed and would have required some research.

A relative says Lane lost her own child more than a decade ago when he accidentally drowned.

Aaron Cruz, the boy’s paternal grandfather, says Dynel Lane’s son was 19 months old when he drowned in a shallow pond at her parents’ home in Pueblo. Investigators ruled the 2002 death an accident.

Cruz says Lane and her now-ex-husband were devastated by the child’s death. But he says Lane seemed to be a good mother and he saw no indication she would be violent.

A Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office report said that Lane cried hysterically when she found her son in the pool.

An obituary from our partners at the Pueblo Chieftain said the name of Lane’s son is Michael Alexander Cruz. Lane did CPR on her son until emergency crews arrived.

Annamay Langdon, who is a friend of Lane, said the death of Lane’s son impacted her along with Lane.

“I know it rattled me to see a little kid like that die,” she said.

Langdon said the horrific crime Lane is accused of has left her puzzled.

“I thought she snapped, something must have snapped, something went wrong there. That doesn’t seem like the Dynel I knew,” she said.

Police said the victim responded to a Craigslist post offering baby clothes. Detectives are now asking anyone else who may have responded to the ad to contact them.

On its website, Craigslist lists a number of safety recommendations, including meeting people in a public place.

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