CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago woman has been indicted on charges alleging that she strangled a pregnant teenager and cut the baby from her womb.
The grand jury indictment has been widely expected since 46-year-old Clarisa Figueroa was charged with first-degree murder last month, a day after 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa-Lopez’s body was found in a garbage can behind Figueroa’s Chicago house.
Figueroa’s 24-year-old daughter, Desiree Figueroa, is also charged with first-degree murder after an investigation revealed she took part in the April 23 slaying. The elder Figueroa’s boyfriend, Piotr Bobak, is charged with concealing a homicide.
None of the three defendants spoke during the brief hearing Wednesday in Cook County court. About two dozen supporters of Ochoa-Lopez attended the hearing, but they didn’t speak to reporters after leaving. The defendants are due back in court June 26.
The child is alive, but authorities say he suffered severe brain damage and isn’t expected to survive.