A Colorado woman was arrested this week after a she orchestrated a Craigslist transaction that went very wrong. Thirty-four-year-old Dynel Lane of Longmont, Colorado allegedly cut out 26-year-old Michelle Wilkins’ unborn child from her womb, leaving Wilkins to call 911 herself and pretending that the baby was hers via miscarriage. The two women did not know each other and Wilkins had gone to Lane’s home in order to purchase baby clothes that Lane had advertised on Craigslist.

Read More: Slideshow: Killers of Craigslist

Law Street’s investigation into killings associated with making transactions on Craigslist, the popular buying-and-selling website, yielded the discovery of 58 murderers and 45 murder victims since 2009. This brutal attack is reminiscent of the 2009 attack on a pregnant 21-year-old woman in Oregon. Korena Roberts arranged to sell baby clothes to Heather Snively through an an on Craigslist. When Snively arrived at Roberts’ home, Roberts hit hit more than 30 times before cutting her open and taking her unborn child. In that case Snively died of major blood loss and Roberts pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated murder. She is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Michelle Wilkins survived Dynel Lane’s attack, with surgeons noting that the incision in her abdomen “appeared to be well performed.” Lane was a licensed nurse aide between July 21, 2010 and January 31, 2012. Wilkins’ baby, however, did not survive the grisly attack.

Police are now investigating the crime, as well as Lane’s history, as prosecutors determine how exactly to charge her. According to Boulder County District Attorney Stanley L. Garnett,

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.

Wilkins pregnancy was seven months along at the time of the attack, and the hospital report indicates that the baby “would have been viable.”

Lane was arrested on attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, and child abuse that knowingly and recklessly resulted in death. Charges are expected to be filed next week.

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Chelsey D. Goff

Chelsey D. Goff was formerly Chief People Officer at Law Street. She is a Granite State Native who holds a Master of Public Policy in Urban Policy from the George Washington University. She’s passionate about social justice issues, politics — especially those in First in the Nation New Hampshire — and all things Bravo. Contact Chelsey at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Craigslist Post Ends in Grisly Attack on Pregnant Colorado Woman appeared first on Law Street.

In the final week leading up to a big election there’s never any shortage of political news. Know what else there isn’t a shortage of? Exhaustion over political news. Last week at Law Street, though, our top three stories came from the world of crime. The Crime in America team produced the number one article of the week with the first-ever definitive coverage of the Killers of Craigslist; writer Anneliese Mahoney covered the disturbing case of California highway cops who routinely steal nude photos from detained women’s cell phones; and the third most popular article detailed Americans’ biggests fears — both warranted (identity theft) and not (mass shootings, which you are highly unlikely to ever experience firsthand). ICYMI, here is the best of the week from Law Street.

#1 Killers of Craigslist

Since the arrest in 2009 of Philip Markoff, aka the “Craigslist Killer,” the website has faced increased scrutiny by the media. Law Street decided to take a closer look at the site and its media coverage to see how dangerous Craigslist really is. We wanted to know: Was Markoff’s an isolated act, or an incident on a continuum? Our findings are noteworthy. This marks the first tabulation of all Craigslist murders since 2009. Law Street identified 58 murderers and 45 murder victims connected to Craigslist postings through last June. Read full article here.

#2 California Police Officers Found Stealing Suspects’ Nude Photos

Today’s “wow, people really suck” story comes straight to you from the California highways. Or, to be more specific, California’s Highway Police. Apparently, a few officers from Contra Costa County, California, have created a new, sick game to pass the time. They began accessing the cell phones of female suspects brought into custody, and then sending nude or semi-nude photos of these women to themselves. Allegedly, the pictures were then passed to the other officers playing the “game.” Read full article here.

#3 Just in Time for Halloween: What Are Americans’ Top Fears?

What scares you the most? That’s the question that Chapman University decided to ask America in a recently released study called the “Chapman Survey on American Fears.” In the study, researchers surveyed 1,500 Americans from different walks of life in order to create a strong representative sample. They split the types of fears into four categories: personal fears, crime, natural disasters, and fear factors. They were able to determine the most pressing concerns in each of the categories, as well as overall. Read full article here.

Chelsey D. Goff

Chelsey D. Goff was formerly Chief People Officer at Law Street. She is a Granite State Native who holds a Master of Public Policy in Urban Policy from the George Washington University. She’s passionate about social justice issues, politics — especially those in First in the Nation New Hampshire — and all things Bravo. Contact Chelsey at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post ICYMI: Best of the Week appeared first on Law Street.