The woman whose baby was brutally cut from her womb during an attack last March is now speaking out about the experience.
“It’s really been crippling,” Michelle Wilkins, 27, told People of her ordeal. “There was this confusion of how to handle it because physically I’m good. I’m still a very young person and so I felt this drive to live, but so much within me was just so tired and exhausted and overwhelmed with everything that I’ve experienced.”
Dynel Lane, the woman who killed Wilkins’ baby, was convicted of murder in February.
It was during Lane’s trial that Wilkins says she felt in touch with her anger. “I don’t mean anger like blinding or all consuming because I still maintain a perspective of her humanity, my humanity, and how we are connected by that,” she said. “But we also make choices which have consequences and in her case those consequences caused a lot of pain.”
More Must-Reads From TIME
- The 100 Most Influential People of 2024
- How Far Trump Would Go
- Scenes From Pro-Palestinian Encampments Across U.S. Universities
- Saving Seconds Is Better Than Hours
- Why Your Breakfast Should Start with a Vegetable
- 6 Compliments That Land Every Time
- Welcome to the Golden Age of Ryan Gosling
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Write to Tessa Berenson at tessa.Rogers@time.com