Baby cut out of mother's womb during 'womb raider' killing opens eyes for the first time while being held by dad
The father of a gravely injured newborn infant who was brutally cut out of his mother's womb during the now-infamous "womb raider" killing was seen holding his son for the first time in a series of photos released by a family friend.
According to the New York Post, the photographs show Yovani Lopez cradling his son, Yadiel, as he opened his eyes for the first time. It's a brief ray of hope for the family, considering the infant was in critical condition and given a low chance of survival after he was cut out of his mother, 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, last month.
"Thank you for your prayers He opened his eye for us!! We’re praying for a miracle," wrote Cecilia Garcia in the Facebook post where she uploaded some of the images. But considering his poor health, his family is still said to be planning a funeral.
We previously reported that the horrific attack unfolded after 46-year-old Clarisa Figueroa and her daughter, 24-year-old Desiree Figueroa lured a nine-months pregnant Ochoa-Lopez to their home on April 23 under the pretext of free baby clothes.
When she arrived at the residence, they strangled the teenage mother using an electronics cable and cut her unborn son out of her womb. Clarisa then reportedly called 911 to claim she had given birth to a baby and that he was not breathing. Around the same time, Ochoa-Lopez was reported missing.
She and her boyfriend, 40-year-old Piotr Bobak, claimed they were the parents of a premature baby whom they had named Xander Xavier Bobak and even made social media posts on decorating their nursery and about the arrival of a baby boy.
Police eventually grew suspicious of the pair after one of Ochoa-Lopez's friends showed them Facebook messages they'd exchanged with the teen. A subsequent DNA test, born out of a tip after Clarisa started a GoFundMe page to raise $9,000 for the baby's medical and funeral claiming that the child would not survive for long, confirmed that the infant was the son of the teen.
On May 15, three weeks after Ochoa-Lopez had been reported missing, they found her body dumped in the garbage behind the Figueroas' home. A possible motive also emerged, with police revealing that Clarisa had lost her own son, Xavier, in 2017 to natural causes.
The Figueroas were charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery of a child causing permanent disability, Bobak was charged with felony counts of concealing a death and concealing a homicide, and now, a hospital may be facing charges as well.
According to ABC7, the Cook County sheriff in Chicago is asking the Department of Child and Family Services to see if Advocate Christ Medical Center followed proper protocols in reporting the birth of Marlen Ochoa Lopez's baby.
The sheriff's office is questioning if the hospital violated state law by not immediately reporting Clarissa after she claimed to be the mother of a newborn to whom she had not given birth. "We will ask DCFS to advise if this unspeakably tragic set of facts was reportable by a mandated reporter. If they determine it was, we will ensure it is immediately investigated," a statement read.