A stranger stabbed a pregnant woman and cut her baby from her womb after the victim answered a Craigslist ad in Colorado, authorities said.
Police were called to a home after a stabbing Wednesday afternoon in Longmont.
When they arrived, they heard a woman inside screaming for help, Longmont Police Cmdr. Jeff Satur said.
Officers entered the home and found the 26-year-old woman with stab wounds in the stomach. She told them she had been pregnant, and the baby had been removed, authorities said.
The victim was responding to a Craigslist ad to buy baby clothes from the suspect when the attack occurred, according to Satur.
“When she got here, she was assaulted and stabbed, and her baby was removed,” he said.
The victim was transported to Longmont United Hospital, where she had surgery and is expected to survive.
In a strange twist, police said the suspect, 34, arrived at the hospital with the baby at the same time, claiming a miscarriage. The baby did not make it.
Detectives are searching the suspect’s home. The names of the two women have not been released, but Satur said they did not know each other.
The suspect faces charges of attempted murder, assault and child abuse.
A growing number of police stations have started offering “safe zones” for online sellers and buyers to conduct their transactions after recent deaths linked to the classified ads website.
In January, Elrey Runion and his wife, June, were killed in Georgia while they tried to buy a car through Craigslist. A seller they’d found on the site has been charged with murder.
