Distraught father Yovani Lopez holds his baby boy, Yovanny, who was cut from his mother's womb. Photo / Facebook
Distraught father Yovani Lopez holds his baby boy, Yovanny, who was cut from his mother's womb. Photo / Facebook
Heartbroken father Yovani Lopez cradles his baby boy, refusing to give up hope after a shocking crime left his wife dead when the child was brutally cut from her womb.
The tragic and "unspeakable act of violence" occurred when his wife, Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, 19, who was nine months pregnant, went to pick up free baby clothes from a woman she met on a Facebook group on April 23.
According to police, Ochoa-Lopez was allegedly strangled to death and her body found dumped in a garbage bin.
Baby Yovanny remains in ICU but has no brain function. Photo / Facebook
Clarisa Figueroa, 46, and daughter Desiree Figueroa, 24, have been charged with Ochoa-Lopez's murder and the mother's boyfriend, Piotr Bobak, 40, has been charged with the concealment of a homicide after the body was found in a garbage bin at Figueroa's house.
The baby boy, who is named Yovanny Lopez, remains in ICU and has no brain function, possibly due to lack of oxygen when he was forcibly removed from the womb.
Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, 19, who was nine months pregnant when she was killed and her baby was cut from her stomach. Photo / Supplied
His distraught father told reporters he understood his son was likely to die soon, but he still wasn't giving up hope.
On Sunday, baby Yovanny opened his eyes in his father's arms, but his road to recovery is a long one yet.
"We plead to God that he gives us our child because that is a blessing that my wife left for us," Lopez said in Spanish through an interpreter last week.
Lopez and his wife had been married since 2016 and also had a three-year-old son Joshua.
The widower has set up a GoFundMe page to help care for his two boys — he hopes to raise $25,000. It has already reached nearly $10,000.
"I am very grateful to the entire community that was in the search of the disappearance of my wife," he said after notifying police of her disappearance on April 24.
A memorial of flowers, balloons, a cross and photo of victim Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, are displayed on the lawn outside her family home. Photo / AP
"I am very grateful for the help that is being provided. With all my heart I keep asking for your help. Pray as My Son Yovanny Jardiel Recovers.
"Thank you very much for the prayers and support that you have given me, I have no more words of thanks. God bless you. This help that you all are giving me will be for the future of my children Thank you, My children will forever be grateful … God bless you."
Many have flooded his GoFundMe page leaving messages of condolences.
"I pray your little boy makes a miraculous, full recovery! I am SO sorry this happened to your wife and child! No one should ever go through this! I'm so sorry! My prayers for you, your son and family. God Bless," one person said.
"I have no words … I couldn't image such a horrendous crime that happened to this young mom," said another.
Pioter Bobak, 40, Clarisa Figueroa, 46, and Desiree Figueroa, 24 have been charged with murder and concealing a body after the death of Marlen Ochoa-Lopez. Photo / AP
Ochoa-Lopez has been described as an "angel" and "joyful" woman.
She was the oldest of four siblings and took on the role of caretaker. The 19-year-old was finishing up at Latino Youth High School.
HOSPITAL TOOK WEEKS TO NOTIFY AUTHORITIES
Police and Illinois' child welfare agency say staff at a Chicago hospital didn't alert them after a bloodied woman arrived with a gravely ill newborn.
Figueroa claimed the baby was hers, but it was later proved, through DNA testing, this was not the case — and Ochoa-Lopez and her husband were his parents.
Arnulfo Ochoa, the father of Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, is surrounded by family members and supporters, as he walks into the Cook County medical examiner's office to identify his daughter's body. Photo / AP
The hospital did not contact state child welfare officials until more than two weeks later, on May 9, according to police and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).
Prosecutors say Figueroa had blood on her upper body and her face — which was cleaned up by a hospital employee — when she took the baby to the hospital.
They also say Figueroa, 46, was examined at the hospital and showed no physical signs of childbirth.
The hospital declined to say whether or when it contacted authorities, citing state and federal regulations.
DCFS spokesman Jassen Strokosch said he couldn't speculate about why the agency wasn't contacted sooner.
