CHICAGO, Illinois – A woman from Chicago has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder after strangling a pregnant woman and removing the victim’s baby from her womb. Clarisa Figueroa, 51, admitted to the crime as part of a plea agreement that will see her serving 50 years in prison. The victim, Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, 19, was lured to Figueroa’s home in April 2019 under the pretense of receiving free baby clothes. However, she was instead attacked and ultimately killed.
During the incident, Ochoa-Lopez, who was nine months pregnant at the time, was viewing a photo album featuring Figueroa’s deceased son. Seizing the opportunity, Figueroa began strangling her with a coaxial cable. Despite managing to get her hand under the cable, Ochoa-Lopez was unable to escape as Figueroa called out to her daughter and co-defendant, Desiree Figueroa, 29, telling her that she wasn’t doing her job.
Prosecutors revealed that Desiree Figueroa proceeded to extract Ochoa-Lopez’s fingers one by one, leading to her eventual surrender. Clarisa Figueroa then used a kitchen knife to remove the baby from the victim’s belly. The newborn, named Yovanny Jadiel Lopez by the family, initially survived but later died in the hospital.
The child’s father, Yovanny Lopez, expressed his anguish, stating that no punishment would be enough because his son would never be able to embrace his mother again.
During the criminal proceedings, both co-defendants turned against Clarisa Figueroa. Desiree Figueroa, in a plea deal, agreed to a 30-year prison sentence in exchange for testifying against her mother if the case went to trial. Meanwhile, Clarisa Figueroa’s boyfriend, Piotr Bobak, was caught by police attempting to clean a rug with bleach. He pleaded guilty to concealing a homicide and received a four-year prison sentence.
Although Clarisa Figueroa had claimed to be pregnant in October 2018, it was revealed that she had already undergone a tubal ligation, making her pregnancy claim untrue.
The guilty plea from Clarisa Figueroa marks a significant step in the pursuit of justice for the heinous murder of Marlen Ochoa-Lopez. The agreed-upon 50-year prison sentence ensures that Figueroa will face the consequences of her actions for decades to come.