Ellie Wilkins became the victim of one of the most brutal crimes in recent history when someone tried to abduct her fetus. And after the outcome where Dynel Lane was found guilty on all accounts for what she did to Wilkins, plus a decade of what Wilkins termed as “unfortunate sensationalism” of her story, she’s back to take control of her narrative and show people what life is like after PTSD.
In 2015, Wilkins was seven months pregnant. In a sit-down with People, Wilkins says that back then she was the type of person people would refer to as trusting and friendly. So when Lane — whom she met off Craigslist — suggested they meet at Lane’s house to pick up maternity clothes, Wilkins thought nothing sounded suspicious.
Lane, on the other hand, was busy scheming. The news cycle has been so rapid these past few years that you’d be forgiven for forgetting the details of one of the biggest criminal trials of 2016. These days, faked pregnancies are still a part of the culture we live in, but Lane took the deranged practice a step further. Not only was she pretending to her husband that she was pregnant, she was planning to cut a baby out of anyone who fell for her Craigslist bait.
Before Wilkins knew it, Lane hit her unconscious and tried to carry out a crude cesarean section on her. Unfortunately, that ended with Wilkins’ unborn child, whom she named Aurora, dying before she ever got the chance to meet her mother. To this day, the story is still haunting — not just to Wilkins but to many others who followed her ordeal and have since read of similar horrors befalling children.
Life after trauma
After the conclusion of the court case, Wilkins focused her efforts on being a therapist and helping other people heal from their trauma. And when Wilkins, now 37, was asked whether her experience with Lane made her less trusting of people, she said she was more focused on those who stood up for her at her lowest. She also shared that through intense therapy and helping others, she can now confidently say she no longer considers herself someone with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
As for the frequent questions about whether she’s considering having children again, Wilkins noted that people tend to ask her that in hopes of a “happy ending” — as though that would mean that she didn’t “lose something.” She wanted people to know that she did, indeed, lose something… or rather, someone. But she’s now found love again and is considering another shot at having children.
As for her future, Wilkins shared that she’s considering writing a memoir to give people a better glimpse of how she now sees the world. Wilkins encapsulated why she’s finally ready to face the press in her own words, saying, “I didn’t want to share a trauma story. I want to share a healing story.”
