Michelle Wilkins, whose fetus was cut out of her womb in a Longmont attack last week, has been released from the hospital where she has been recovering since being rescued by emergency responders, her father confirmed to The Denver Post on Wednesday morning.
“As you might imagine, we’re navigating troubled waters one would never want to see in a lifetime,” a post Tuesday evening on a crowdfunding site announcing the 26-year-old’s release said. “The issues to be dealt with now are coming like tsunamis, but she has family and friends by her side every step of the way.”
Family say that Wilkins’ dog Jade has been permanently glued to her side and she is now in a “safe place” and accompanied by her partner, Dan. Wilkins had been receiving treatment at Longmont United Hospital where she was admitted in critical condition on March 18.
“(She) is taking the first tentative steps along a long journey towards recovery and spiritual reconciliation,” the Wilkins family said in a statement Wednesday morning.
The statement said Wilkins has deep gratitude for all “the expressions of love, kindness and spiritual solidarity she has received from both the Longmont community and from around the world.” According to family, Wilkins believes her recovery is directly aided by the prayers and positive energy she is receiving.
“We cannot predict what lies ahead for Michelle. We have no guidebook on how to navigate this crisis, or a checklist on what to do next,” the statement said. “We wish there were.”
According to her family, Wilkins had just moved to Colorado and was beginning a job teaching pottery when she was attacked. Relatives say the cost of her recovery will be “astronomical.”
“She is one of the sweetest souls I know,” her cousin, Audrey Wilkins, told The Post. “She has a big heart.”
Chris Wilkins, an uncle, said the outpouring of love the family has received reaffirmed the “belief that humanity is good.”
“For the time being, our family and Dan’s family (are) just trying to catch our breath and continue to grieve,” Chris Wilkins said.
A formal filing of charges for Dynel Lane, 34, accused of luring Wilkins to her Longmont home, cutting the expecting mother open with precision and removing her fetus, has been moved to Friday, court records show.
Police say Lane lured Wilkins to her home through a Craigslist ad advertising the sale of baby clothes.
Ryan Brackley, a Boulder County assistant district attorney, said during Lane’s first court appearance last week that the stabbing “this was an extremely violent act, a premeditated act.”
Formal charges were originally slated to be filed by the Boulder County DA’s office on Wednesday but the hearing was moved to Friday.
Prosecutors say the filing was moved because more time was needed to get autopsy and investigative reports, according to Catherine Olguin, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.
Lane is being held at the county jail in lieu of $2 million bail on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault and child abuse knowingly and recklessly resulting in death.
Wilkins’ 7-month-old fetus — whom she planned to name Aurora when she was born — died in the attack. The county coroner’s office said the fetus was a girl.
The coroner’s office will decide how long — or if — the baby girl lived after she was cut out of Wilkins’ womb as part of considering whether to file a murder charge against Lane, Olguin said.
District Attorney Stan Garnett will use that determination as “part of the information” used to determine the charges, Olguin said.
Garnett met briefly with the county coroner this week, his office said, but an official statement on the charges Lane will face has not been made.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JesseAPaul
