A woman accused of using a butcher knife to cut a baby out of the womb of a pregnant teenager pleaded guilty to murder Tuesday in Cook County, Illinois, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
Clarisa Figueroa, a 51-year-old Chicago resident, reportedly lured the teenager to her home in 2019 before committing the crime, according to The AP. Figueroa was sentenced to 50 years in prison without the prospect of early release or parole, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Daughter Pleads Guilty To Helping Mother Allegedly Kill Pregnant Teen, Steal Victim’s Baby From Womb)
Chicago woman pleads guilty, gets 50 years for cutting child from victim’s womb https://t.co/fH4XIMbZep
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 17, 2024
Prosecutors said that the victim, 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, was nine months pregnant when she went home with Figueroa after being promised free clothing for her unborn baby, according to AP. After the murder, Figueroa called 911 and said she had given birth to an unresponsive child, the outlet reported. Two months later, the baby boy died in his father’s arms, ABC7 reported.
The father, Yovanny Lopez, said that the tragedy left the pair’s older son without “his mother forever,” The AP reported.
“The memory of my infant son’s last breath in my arms is complete agony,” Lopez said in a statement read in the courtroom. “God’s justice will be served upon you the day you die.”
Authorities say that after Figueroa had lost an adult son to natural causes, she told her family she was pregnant and plotted for months to acquire a newborn, according to The AP.
Figueroa met Ochoa-Lopez on a Facebook page dedicated to pregnant women after she had posted an ultrasound and pictures of a baby’s room on her Facebook page, the outlet reported. DNA tests confirmed that the child was not Figueroa’s and police eventually discovered Ochoa-Lopez’s body in a garbage can outside Figueroa’s home, according to the outlet.
Ochoa-Lopez’s mother said in 2019 that her daughter came to the US from Mexico when she was two and that, “My daughter was a very joyful girl. She had a lot of dreams.”
Her husband added, “She wanted to do great things, like all of us.”