Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Ten Years On, Ellie Wilkins Reflects on Survival and Healing After Colorado Fetal Abduction

Her assailant is serving a 100-year sentence.

Overview

  • In new interviews, Wilkins describes ongoing PTSD, a change of name, community work with first responders and prevention groups, and a memoir in progress.
  • She recalls testifying in February 2016 against Dynel Lane, a step prosecutors say required extraordinary emotional and physical resolve.
  • In March 2015, a fake Craigslist ad drew Wilkins to Lane’s Longmont home, where she was choked unconscious and cut open in a crude attempt to take her fetus.
  • Medical examiners concluded the baby, whom Wilkins named Aurora, never took a breath, and doctors reported she lost about 40% of her blood and spent five days in intensive care.
  • Lane was convicted of assault, attempted murder and unlawful termination of a pregnancy and is serving a 100-year term, as letters and donations from thousands helped sustain Wilkins’ recovery.