(RepublicanPress.org) – Some crimes are so heinous they stagger the imagination. Such was the brutal murder of a heavily pregnant Chicago teen by a woman dubbed the “Womb Raider” by some media outlets. A judge recently sentenced the murderess to decades behind bars for her unimaginable crime.
Murderer Sentenced for Heinous Crime
On April 16, Clarisa Figueroa pleaded guilty to the 2019 murder of then-19-year-old Marlen Ochoa-Lopez under a plea agreement with prosecutors. Cook County District Judge Peggy Chiampas accepted her plea and sentenced the 51-year-old killer to 50 years in prison.
Clarisa enlisted the help of her daughter, Desiree Figueroa, to help her lure Ochoa-Lopez to their home to murder the expectant mother and steal her baby so Figueroa could raise the child as her own. Desiree pleaded guilty to her role in the murder in January. She received a 30-year sentence in exchange for her agreement to testify against her mother should the case go before a jury. Authorities released Desiree’s boyfriend in 2023 on parole after he entered a guilty plea to attempting to conceal Ochoa-Lopez’s murder.
The Figueroas enticed Ochoa-Lopez, then nine months pregnant, to come to their home to pick up some clothing for her unborn baby. She had previously visited the residence. Clarisa crept up behind the pregnant woman and strangled her with an extension cord while Desiree distracted Ochoa-Lopez by showing her photographs of her recently deceased brother.
Clarisa removed the unborn baby from Ochoa-Lopez’s womb using a butcher’s knife. Afterward, she tried to pass off the baby as her own. Tragically, the victim’s baby boy died from brain damage a few weeks after the victim’s murder.
The Figueroas wrapped Ochoa-Lopez’s body in plastic and placed it in a garbage receptacle outside their home. Her family reported her missing, and a couple of weeks later, police officers located her car near the Figueroas’ home. Suspecting foul play, detectives searched the area and discovered Ochoa-Lopez’s corpse.
The Victim’s Family Confront the Murderess
Several of Ochoa-Lopez’s family members attended Clarisa’s sentencing hearing. None of them testified, but two submitted victim impact statements that the court clerk read into the record before Judge Chiampas.
Raquel Uriostegui, the victim’s mother, wrote that she would “never overcome” the loss of her “daughter’s life.” Ochoa-Lopez’s husband and father of the unborn child and an older boy also penned a statement for the court. Yovanny Lopez explained that whatever punishment the court handed down would “never be enough” because his son would “never be able to hug his mother — ever.”
Yovanny spoke with reporters outside the courthouse after the hearing. He said the loss of his family would stay with him forever.
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