Homicide

Sentencing of Colorado woman who cut baby from womb

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Michelle Wilkins, center, stands with her father Mark and mother Wendy, as Wilkins speaks with members of the media following the sentencing hearing for Dynel Lane, who was given 100 years in prison for cutting the nearly 8-month-old fetus from Wilkins's womb in 2015, at the Boulder County Justice Center, in Boulder, Colo., Friday, April 29, 2016. A jury convicted Lane, 36, in February, 2016 of attempting to kill Michelle Wilkins in 2015. Lane also was convicted of assault and unlawful termination of a pregnancy after luring Wilkins with an ad for maternity clothes. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) (The Associated Press)

Dynel Lane, convicted in February of attempting to kill a fetus, appears during sentencing at the Boulder County Justice Center in Boulder, Colo., Friday, April 29, 2016. A judge on Friday sentenced the Colorado woman to 100 years in prison for cutting the nearly 8-month-old fetus from a stranger's womb. (Matthew Jonas/The Daily Times Call via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT (The Associated Press)

Michelle Wilkins, from left, stands with her sister Sarah, their father Mark and mother Wendy, as Wilkins speaks with members of the media following the sentencing hearing for Dynel Lane, who was given 100 years in prison for cutting the nearly 8-month-old fetus from Wilkins's womb in 2015, at the Boulder County Justice Center in Boulder, Colo., Friday, April 29, 2016. A jury convicted Lane, 36, in February, 2016 of attempting to kill Michelle Wilkins in 2015. Lane also was convicted of assault and unlawful termination of a pregnancy after luring Wilkins with an ad for maternity clothes. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) (The Associated Press)

A judge is set to sentence a Colorado woman convicted of attempted murder after cutting a nearly 8-month-old fetus from a stranger's womb.

District Attorney Stan Garnett has said 36-year-old Dynel Lane could spend the rest of her life in prison after a jury convicted her in February of attempting to kill Michelle Wilkins.

Lane was also convicted of assault and unlawful termination of a pregnancy in the 2015 attack.

Prosecutors say they were not able to charge her with murder in the death of the unborn girl because a coroner found no evidence the fetus lived outside the womb.

Prosecutors say Lane was obsessed with having a baby. Her attorneys argued the assault was not a calculated murder attempt, but an impulsive act.