"Womb Raider' killed pregnant teen and sliced out her baby

A mother and daughter teamed up to murder

- GAIL SHORTLAND

Excited about the arrival of her second baby but short on money, pregnant Marlen Ochoa-Lopez went on social media to find secondhand baby clothes and a pram for her unborn son. She put a request on the Facebook group 'Help A Sister Out' for donations in March 2019, and was touched by the generosity of strangers.

Marlen, 19, and her husband Yovany lived together in Chicago with their toddler son and money was tight. When other members of the Facebook group contacted Marlen to say they had free clothes to offer, she was grateful.

One member of the group was Clarisa Figueroa, then 46. She contacted Marlen and said her daughter, Desiree, 24, who was four months pregnant, had been given lots of clothes during two baby showers and they wanted to share with others.

Nursing assistant Figueroa revealed to the Facebook group that she was pregnant, too - after asking who was due in the same month that she was. "Who is due in May - where is the May mamas at?" she wrote, leading other expectant mums to say their babies were also due in May just like Marlen.

Figueroa posted an ultrasound scan on her own Facebook page to announce she and her boyfriend Piotr Bobak were expecting a boy. She posted another picture of a decorated room, revealing they'd picked the name Xander as a tribute to Figueroa's adult son, Xander, who had died the previous year of natural causes.

On 1 April 2019, Marlen went to Figueroa's house to collect some baby clothes. Figueroa invited her back on 23 April for more items. Later that day, Figueroa called 911 from her home and said she'd given birth, but the baby boy wasn't breathing.

When the paramedics arrived, Figueroa was covered in blood and there was a blue baby boy fighting for his life. At the hospital, the baby was put on life support in the intensive care unit, but his brain had been badly deprived of oxygen and doctors warned he was unlikely to pull through.