A 29-year-old Chicago woman has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder after authorities said she helped her mother kill a pregnant teenager whose baby was cut from her womb in 2019.
Desiree Figueroa's plea was made Monday at the Leighton Criminal Court Building. It stipulates that she will testify against her mother, Clarisa Figueroa, whose first-degree murder trial is scheduled to start later this month, as the Chicago Tribune reported. As part of the plea deal, Desiree Figueroa will receive a 30-year prison sentence.
Clarisa Faked Her Pregnancy, Then Lured Victim to Her Home with the Promise of Free Baby Clothing
Police and prosecutors have accused Clarisa Figueroa of plotting for months to acquire a newborn after her adult son died of natural causes. Investigators said she told her family she was pregnant and posted an ultrasound and photos of a room decorated for a baby on her Facebook page.
She later met 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa-Lopez on a Facebook page for pregnant women in March 2019 and lured her to the Figueroas' home with the promise of free clothing for her unborn child. Ochoa-Lopez was nine months pregnant.
Clarisa Cut the Baby from Ochoa-Lopez's Womb, Then Claimed it was Hers
When Ochoa-Lopez arrived, police believe Clarisa Figueroa and her then-24-year-old daughter Desiree strangled the young woman to death with a cord and cut the baby from her womb with a butcher knife, according to prosecutors, before the Figueroas wrapped the teen's body in a blanket, put it in a plastic bag and dragged it outside to a garbage can.
Hours after, first responders received a call from Clarisa Figueroa, who claimed she had just given birth and her newborn child was not breathing. When first responders arrived, the child was blue.
The baby was then taken to hospital where he died two months later. Police did not connect the disappearance of Ochoa-Lopez and Clarisa Figueroa's ill child until 7 May, when friends of Ochoa-Lopez provided police access to her Facebook account.
DNA Confirmed Child Belonged to Ochao-Lopez
At that point, authorities saw that Ochoa-Lopez and Clarisa Figueroa had corresponded the day of the disappearance, and DNA tested the young child. The DNA test determined that the child was of Ochoa-Lopez and her husband, Yovani Lopez.
A warrant allowed the police to search the Figueroa home, where they found cleaning supplies and evidence of blood in the bathroom and hallway, according to the Associated Press.
Clarisa Figueroa tricked her boyfriend, , Piotr Bobak, into believing he was the father, according to police and prosecutors. Bobak cleaned up the crime scene and was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty last year to obstruction of justice.
