A stranger stabbed a pregnant woman who answered her Craigslist ad for baby clothes in Colorado and cut her fetus from the womb, authorities said
Police say the woman selling the clothes attacked the victim in Longmont on Wednesday.
Authorities responding to a call heard a woman inside a home screaming for help, Longmont Police Cmdr. Jeff Satur said.
When officers entered the home, they found the 26-year-old pregnant woman with stab wounds in the stomach. She told them her baby was cut out of her womb, authorities said.
“She was assaulted and stabbed, and her baby was removed,” Satur 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 home of the suspect, who faces charges of attempted murder, assault and child abuse. The names of the two women have not been released, but police said they did not know each other.
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 “Bud” Runion and his wife, June, were killed in Georgia when they went to look at a vintage car they’d asked to purchase through an ad on Craigslist. The man who apparently responded to their ad, claiming to have a car to sell, has been charged with murder.