A woman who helped her mother murder a pregnant teenager and then cut the baby from her womb has pleaded guilty to murder and has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Clarisa and Desiree Figueroa lured 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, who was nine months pregnant, with the promise of free baby clothes. Prior to this, Clarisa had been telling family members she was pregnant following the death of her adult son. When Ochoa-Lopez arrived, Desiree distracted her by showing her pictures of her deceased brother, so Clarisa could come from behind and strangle her.
After Ochoa-Lopez was dead, the mother-daughter duo used a butcher knife to cut the baby from Ochoa-Lopez’s womb. They wrapped Ochoa-Lopez’s body in a blanket, put it in a plastic bag, and then put it in a trash can; then, they called the police, reporting that Clarisa had given birth and that the baby was not breathing. First responders arrived and found him blue, so he was taken to the hospital. At first, it was believed that the baby boy was Clarisa’s son, but as police began investigating Ochoa-Lopez’s disappearance, the truth was eventually revealed.
The baby boy, Yovanny Jadiel Lopez, suffered a severe brain injury and passed away two months later in the arms of Yovanny Lopez, his father, and Ochoa-Lopez’s husband. “The memory of my infant son’s last breath in my arms is complete agony,” he said. “God’s justice will be served upon you the day you die.”
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In April, Clarisa pled guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 50 years in prison with no possibility of parole. Her daughter, Desiree, had previously pled guilty and agreed to testify against her mother in exchange for a shorter sentence. This week, she was officially sentenced to 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole.
“I’m sorry,” she said through tears during the court appearance. “I could never apologize for what I did.”
The judge agreed. “Your mom put you in the position you were in, and so did you,” Judge Peggy Chiampas said. “You’re right, you can never apologize. I want you to live with that for the rest of your life.”
After the murder, Desiree gave birth to her own child, something particularly painful for Lopez. He said he hoped she would never know the child, and that the baby would be protected from her. He said he could not bring himself to come to the sentencing, but issued a statement about the pain he and his family have suffered.
“I cannot bear to be in the courtroom, where I will have to share the same air with the monster that strangled my wife, while her mother ripped my baby son out out of her body,” Lopez’s statement said. “I cannot bear to look at this monster, knowing that one day she will be released back into our community, where she can harm someone again. I cannot bear to look at this monster who choked and choked and choked my wife until her life was gone. I cannot bear this agony.”
