Womb raider case: Photos show grieving father cuddling baby who was cut from pregnant woman's womb by mother-daughter duo
Update: The family of Marlen Ochoa Lopez, the murdered pregnant teenager whose unborn baby was cut out from her womb, on Monday released photos of the baby boy with father, Yiovanni Lopez. Baby Yadiel is still in critical condition and is reliant on a breathing machine, a family spokeswoman told NBC News. In her Facebook update the family mentioned that the baby had opened his eyes but they are still praying for a miracle.
Ochoa-Lopez's family said though they have braced themselves for the possibility of the baby also dying, they are still hopeful.
"We plead to God that he gives us our child because that is a blessing that my wife left for us," the baby's dad told reporters last Wednesday, through a Spanish interpreter, outside the county morgue where his wife's body was taken.
Original article
New details regarding the heinous murder of pregnant 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa-Lopez have been revealed from court documents that were released on Friday, May 17. It is understood that 46-year-old Clarisa Figueroa, her 24-year-old daughter Desiree Figueroa, and 40-year-old Piotr Bobak distracted Ochoa with a photo album, before strangling her with electronic cables and cutting out her unborn baby from her womb.
Following the murder, Clarisa called 911 and claimed that she had just given birth to a baby and the baby was not breathing, Her intention was to raise him as her own after her son died last year. However, DNA testing proved that the baby was, in fact, the offspring of the slain teenager, whose body was found in a trash can in the backyard of the killer's home along with the murder weapon.
While Piotyr has been charged with concealing the death of a person and concealing a homicidal death, both Clarisa and Desiree have been charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery of a child causing permanent disability. CNN reported that the infant is hospitalized in grave condition and is on life support.
Prosecutors revealed during the court hearing that the Figueroas sowed the seeds for their plot in late 2018, soon after the death of Clarisa's 20-year-old-son, wherein she claimed that she is pregnant. She started posting about cribs and other baby items that she could share on a Facebook group calling 'Help a Mother' and went on to agree to give them to Ochoa, whose baby was due in May.
According to officials, Ochoa first visited Figueroa's home in on April 1, where Clarisa allegedly told Desiree that they needed to kill the teen, but had to abandon the plan when the former's boyfriend threatened to call the cops. The mother-daughter duo claimed that they were joking and let Ochoa go, the prosecutors claimed. However, Ochoa's luck ran out when she returned to their home a few weeks later to collect the baby clothing and stroller. The Figueroas turned up the music in their home to discuss their plan, after which Desiree returned with a photo album of her late brother, even as Clarisa wrapped a cable around the teen mom's neck and strangled her to death.
Prosecutors revealed that at one point during the attack, Clarisa told her daughter, "you're not doing your f***ing job," which made Desiree forcibly peel Ochoa's fingers from the cable, one by one, making it easier for the cable to tighten around her neck, She was strangled for four to five minutes, they alleged, based on Desiree's confession.
Ochoa's family has vowed to get justice for her, with her husband Giovanni Lopez claiming, "We're gonna have justice with those responsible. We're gonna go hard after them. We won't let it go. They don't know the pain they've caused. They don't know."