Judge Maria Berkenkotter read off the jury's findings. Criminal attempt to commit first-degree murder: guilty. Two counts of assault in the first degree: guilty. Two counts of assault in the second degree: guilty. Unlawful termination of a pregnancy in the first-degree: guilty.
After the jurors and alternates were dismissed with the judge's thanks, Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett asked that Lane be given a "thorough psychological evaluation" prior to sentencing. That point will be discussed during the next fourteen days, Judge Berkenkotter ordered.
Michelle Wilkins, who displayed remarkable compassion throughout the process, was in the courtroom when the verdicts were read.
A police report and 911 audio in the case played a major role in the case. A 911 call was made on March 18, 2015, from 1620 Green Place in Longmont from a woman who was seven months pregnant and had been stabbed in the stomach.
"She cut me. ... I'm pregnant," Wilkins can be heard saying. "Help, help."
Here's the sound clip, originally obtained by the Boulder Daily Camera.
Upon their arrival at the home, Longmont police officers walked into a basement area, where a large amount of blood was on the floor — and a blood trail led into through a bedroom into a utility room.
There, they found Wilkins lying on a bed and a small knife with a three-inch blade laying nearby.
Wilkins was barely conscious when officers arrived, but she managed to tell them that she only knew the woman who'd attacked her as "D."
Thanks to a bill left on a counter, investigators quickly surmised that "D" was Dynel Lane, who'd previously suffered the loss of a child. According to the Daily Camera, her nineteen-month-old son drowned in 2002 when she was living in Pueblo County under a previous name, Dynel Cruz. (Editor's note: After the publication of this item, a source told us her given name was Dynel Smith.)
Shortly thereafter, Lane's husband, David Ridley, arrived at the home. He said he and Lane live there with her two teenaged daughters.
Ridley told investigators he'd found Lane covered in blood. She told him she'd just miscarried and showed him a small baby lying in the bathtub. An excerpt from the report adds: "He rubbed the baby slightly, then rolled it over to hear and see it take a gasping breath."
By the way, the report says Lane had told the family she was pregnant, offering as evidence an ultrasound photo of a boy that she showed them in December.
At that point, Ridley wrapped the baby in a towel and drove Lane to the nearest hospital. Once they got to the facility, he escorted her into the emergency room carrying the baby.
Meanwhile, Wilkins was receiving care, and a surgeon who spoke to a detective assigned to the case described the incision as "well-performed." He believed "the person who did the incision would have to have researched the subject of Cesarean births in books or online to achieve the level of accuracy."
Wilkins's family released the following statement to the Longmont Times-Call:
We want to thank the Longmont Public Safety Department and Boulder County Sheriff's Office for their tireless work and efforts. They represent Colorado's finest and we sincerely appreciate everything they have done.Look below to read the complete police report, followed by a Daily Camera video in which Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett discusses the case.
We are grateful for the physicians and staff at Longmont United Hospital and the compassionate care they are providing. In addition, we are thankful for the outpouring of love and support from the local community and others who have expressed their condolences. We know you are grieving too, and we truly appreciate the support. In addition, we wish to extend a thank you to the media for your support over the past 24-hours.
Michelle is in critical but stable condition and resting comfortably.
We ask in this time of unimaginable sorrow, that the media and the public respect our need to grieve, recover and heal.
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