Woman sentenced to 50 years in prison for killing pregnant teenager, ripping her baby from her uterus

Clarisa Figueroa, 51, killed Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, 19, and cut her baby from her womb in 2019

A Chicago woman has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for killing a pregnant teenager and ripping her baby from her womb.

Clarisa Figueroa, 51, appeared in a Cook County courtroom on April 16 for sentencing after strangling pregnant Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, 19, to death with a wire on April 23, 2019, a reported the Associated Press.

Clarisa did not make a statement but responded “Yes” when Judge Peggy Chiampas asked her if she understood that she would serve her entire sentence and not be granted early release on parole, according to media outlets such as that the AP, the Washington Postand WLS-TV reported.

Related: Baby boy ripped from murdered Chicago mother has no brain function, family says

Clarisa and her daughter Desiree, 29, who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in January, were both charged with killing newborn Yovanny Lopez in July 2013, PEOPLE confirmed at the time.

Authorities previously said Desiree and Clarisa lured Ochoa-Lopez to her death via a Facebook post saying they were giving away baby clothes and a stroller. The couple then strangled Ochoa-Lopez when she arrived at their home and removed her baby from her womb.

Despite the best efforts of medical staff, Yovanny Lopez died in his father's arms in June 2019, according to a statement from family spokesperson Julie Contreras. He was only 51 days old when he died and spent his short life on assistive machines with severe brain damage.

The Cook County medical examiner's office later said Yovanny died from a lack of oxygen and blood to his brain and a prolapsed umbilical cord and placenta caused by the assault and death of his mother, Chicago Tribune reported.

Marlen Ochoa-Lopez's husband and father of her child, Yovanny Lopez, provided a statement read in Spanish and English in the courtroom on April 16. He said the couple's eldest child, Joshua, had “lost his mother forever,” according to AP.

“The memory of my grandson’s last breath in my arms is utter agony,” he said. “God’s justice will be done to you on the day you die. »

The Cook County Court, the Cook County Sheriff's Office and the Chicago Police Department did not immediately respond after being contacted by PEOPLE.

Related: Woman Jailed for Allegedly Cutting Baby From Pregnant Teen's Womb Gives Birth to Her Own Child

Desiree Figueroa pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in a Cook County court in January and was sentenced to 30 years in prison after agreeing to testify against her mother.

Authorities previously claimed that after recently losing her adult son to natural causes, Clarisa was eager to raise another child, even though her fallopian tubes had been tied, PEOPLE previously reported.

Former Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told reporters in April 2019 that the suspects wanted to “raise the child as their own” after Clarisa allegedly faked a pregnancy and then called 911 on April 23, 2019 to pretend that she had just given birth to a boy who was pregnant. difficulty breathing.

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At the time, investigators said Clarisa showed no signs of having given birth. They eventually found Ochoa-Lopez's body in a trash can in the Figueroas' yard, PEOPLE previously reported.

A third suspect, Piotr Bobak, Desiree's boyfriend, 44, was also charged for his involvement. He was sentenced to four years in prison but was released last year after being given credit for the 3 years and nearly 8 months he had already spent in custody. CBS News reported in January 2023. He pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice, according to the outlet.

About six months after the murder, Desiree gave birth to her own baby while behind bars, the Cook County Sheriff's Office previously confirmed to WGN 9.

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