Police: Suspects Distracted Pregnant Teen With Photo Album, Before Killing Her

Baby not expected to survive, say police

A file photo shows 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa-Lopez. Chicago Police

Three suspects in the slaying of pregnant teen Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, whose baby was forcibly removed from her womb, lured her to a home with a photo album before strangling her and extracting the child.

Yavani Yadiel Lopez, the baby born to Chicago woman Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, who was found dead last week, is brain dead at Christ Hospital where his family has made the move to keep him on life support, according to reports.

The family of the baby first confirmed to People magazine last week that the child has no brain function. On May 17, police sad the child is on life support and in grave condition, CNN reported. The Associated Press also reported over the weekend that he isn’t expected to survive.

This booking photo provided by the Chicago Police Department on May 16, 2019, shows Clarisa Figueroa, who is charged in the death of 19-year-old expectant mother Marlen Ochoa-Lopez Chicago Police Department via AP

According to CNN, the prime suspect, 46-year-old Clarisa Figueroa, distracted Ochoa-Lopez at her home before she killed the teen, officials said.

Her daughter, 24-year-old Desiree Figueroa, was also charged with murder in the attack, which, according to Chicago Police, took place on April 23.

After they killed the teen, Clarisa Figueroa pretended the child belonged to her and was planning to raise him as her own, the network reported. Her own son died last year, said authorities.

Clarisa’s boyfriend, Piotr Bobak, 40, was also charged with concealing the death of a person and concealing a homicidal death.

Fake Pregnancy

What’s more, Clarisa Figueroa, at the age of 45, announced to her family seven months ago that she was pregnant. They found it unusual, The Chicago Tribune reported, as she had her fallopian tubes tied.

Over the next few months, she posted photos on Facebook of a nursery, an ultrasound, and a crib. She said she named the child Xander after her 20-year-old son, who had died last year.

Arnulfo Ochoa, the father of Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, is surrounded by family members and supporters, as he walks into the Cook County medical examiner's office to identify his daughter's body, in Chicago, Illinois, on May 16, 2019. Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP

Prosecutors highlighted that Clarisa Figueroa made the announcement about being pregnant not long after one of her adult sons had died of natural causes. Clarisa Figueroa connected with Ochoa-Lopez on March 5 via a Facebook page for pregnant women. “Who is due in May?” Clarisa Figueroa asked in one message. “Where is the May mammas at?” Ochoa-Lopez, seven months’ pregnant at the time, responded, and Clarisa Figueroa made the offer of free clothes, prosecutors said, The Associated Press reported.

They first met with Ochoa-Lopez around April 1, though she left unharmed that day. Desiree Figueroa had told her boyfriend about her mother’s intention to kill Ochoa-Lopez, and he warned her he would call police if they harmed the young woman. The prosecutor said Clarisa Figueroa later told the boyfriend the whole scheme had been an April Fool’s joke, AP reported.

Police did not connect Ochoa-Lopez’s disappearance and the 911 call about the baby until May 7, when friends of the teen directed detectives to her social media account, which showed she had communicated with Clarisa Figueroa.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.