GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.—The Colorado Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court’s ruling that an 8 1/2-month-old fetus who died after being delivered was not a “person” under state murder laws.
The appeals court issued a ruling Thursday concerning Lileigh Lehnen, the unborn daughter of Shea Lehnen of Collbran.
Shea Lehnen was driving on Colorado 65 on Nov. 6, 2007, when her vehicle was hit head-on by a Jeep allegedly driven by Logan Lage.
Lehnen was rushed to a Grand Junction hospital. Doctors delivered her baby by emergency Cesarean section, but the girl died.
A judge ruled in 2008 that Lileigh Lehnen was not yet a person when the crash occurred and threw out a first-degree murder charge against Lage.
The appeals court upheld that ruling but reinstated four other charges.
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Information from: The Daily Sentinel,
