A new member of the family was coming. A baby boy: Marlen Ochoa-Lopez and Yovani Lopez's boy. Nine months pregnant, Marlen already had a 3-year-old son who now would have a brother.
Marlen, 19, was doing the things that parents do when they're bringing a new baby into the world. That includes stocking up on supplies. Before Marlen went missing, she found a Facebook group for mothers and came in contact with a 46-year-old woman who offered up a double stroller and baby clothes.
On April 23, Marlen drove to a house in the Scottsdale neighborhood to get the stroller and clothes. There, according to police, Marlen was strangled and her baby was cut from her body. Police have charged Clarisa Figueroa, 46, and her daughter, Desiree, 24, with Marlen's murder. Clarisa Figueroa's boyfriend, Piotr Bobak, was charged with concealment of a homicide.
After Marlen's death, Clarisa Figueroa called 911 and reported that the baby wasn't breathing. The infant boy is on life support and shows no signs of brain function. Marlen's body was discovered Wednesday behind the house. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi called the alleged crime an "unspeakable act of violence."
Marlen and Yovani's dream of a family of four is now a shattered dream.
As macabre as the details are, the horror of such tragedies also lies in the aftermath: how families are destroyed. Marlen's 3-year-old son will have to grow up without his mother. How much emotional scarring will there be? How much counseling will it take to salve those wounds?
"Why did these people, why did these bad people do this? She did nothing to them," Yovani Lopez said of the accused.
The rest of Chicago is asking the same question: Why?
We hope the prosecution of those charged can provide an answer. If they're convicted, the courts can then issue punishment for such evil.
Editorial on 05/18/2019