Pregnant Chicago woman murdered, baby cut from her womb. / ABC 7
A shocking photo has emerged of an alleged killer, smiling and posing with a newborn she's believed to have ripped from the womb of his now dead mother.
In the chilling image, Clarisa Figueroa, 46, is seen leaning over newborn Yovani Yadiel Lopez at the Advocate Christ Medical Center.
She appears to be playing the distraught new mum, tenderly touching the baby who is on life support, as a staffer is seen resting her hand on Figueroa's shoulder.
Clarisa Figueroa, 46, pictured with baby after allegedly pretending to be his mother. Figueroa has been charged with cutting the newborn from his mother Marlen Ochoa-Lopez's womb after murdering her.
The baby boy however had been cut from murdered mum Marlen Ochoa-Lopez's.
And it is Figueroa who has been charged with the offence, with police claiming she strangling the baby's mother — who was nine months pregnant at the time — and removed Yadiel from her womb, on April 23.
The exact details of precisely when the photo was taken is unclear, however according to CBS, it appears to have been shortly after baby Yovani Yadiel Lopez was born. It is also the first known photo of Figueroa in the hospital with Yovani.
The Chicago hospital has been accused of violating state law by not immediately reporting Figueroa, who claimed to be child's mother and brought him to the local hospital as he was gravely ill.
However, a DNA test later proved she bore no relation to the boy.
The Cook County Sheriff"s Office said on Monday that it will ask the state's child welfare agency to determine if a suburban Chicago hospital acted properly in the case, AP reported.
The charges come three weeks after 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa-Lopez disappeared and a day after her body was discovered in a garbage can in the backyard of Figueroa's home. Photos / Supplied
Police described the horrendous death of Ochoa-Lopez as an "unspeakable act of violence" — explaining the young mother had crossed paths with her alleged killers when she went to pick up free baby clothes from Figueroa's home on April 23, after meeting through a Facebook group arrangement.
Figueroa and her daughter Desiree, 24, have been charged with first degree murder.
Figueroa's boyfriend, Piotr Bobak, 40, was charged with concealing the murder.
A judge has denied bail for all three.
According to CBS, Ms Ochoa-Lopez had been to the home to get baby items in the past, and the pair knew each other.
Clarisa Figueroa, left, is the alleged mastermind of the murder plot. Desiree Figueroa, right, and Piotr Bobak, centre, were also charged in connection with the murder. Photos / Supplied
At a news conference, Chicago police chief Eddie Johnson called the crime "disgusting and thoroughly disturbing".
"I can't even pretend to imagine what that family is going through right now. They should be celebrating the birth of a young baby. Instead, they're mourning the loss of the mother and possibly that young child," Johnson said.
According to police, Ms Ochoa-Lopez's body was found dumped in a garbage bin after they served a search warrant at Figueroa's home on Tuesday evening last week.
The baby boy remains in ICU and has no brain function, possibly due to lack of oxygen when he was forcibly removed from the womb.
