Baby Cut From Slain Mother's Womb Dies Weeks After Attack

Amy Russo
Baby Cut From Slain Mother's Womb Dies Weeks After Attack

An infant cut from his mother’s womb in a brutal April attack on Chicago’s Southwest Side died Friday, the family’s attorney announced.

Yovanny Jadiel Lopez came into the world fighting for his life in the neonatal intensive care unit of Christ Advocate Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois, after suffering a severe brain injury April 23 when his 19-year-old mother, Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, was strangled to death.

Frank Avila, the lawyer for the child’s father, Yovany Lopez, told HuffPost that Yovanny experienced serious trauma due to lost oxygen during the murder.

The family had maintained hope since the baby had been able to breathe intermittently on his own. However, “Last night the baby took a turn for the worst,” Avila said.

At 5 a.m., Yovanny died.

“We’re very, very sad,” Avila said. “We appreciate the prayers and support for the father and the family, and we ask you to continue to pray and support.”

On April 23, at nine months pregnant, Ochoa-Lopez disappeared after leaving her high school. Her body was found May 15 in a garbage can. The baby had been “forcibly removed,” Chicago police said.

According to The Associated Press, 46-year-old Clarisa Figueroa and her 24-year-old daughter, Desiree Figueroa, were indicted on Wednesday in the killing. Figueroa’s boyfriend, Piotr Bobak, was charged with concealing a murder.

Authorities believe that after Figueroa’s adult son died from natural causes, she spent months plotting her plan to obtain a newborn, faking a pregnancy by posting a photo of an ultrasound on Facebook.

Figueroa contacted Ocha-Lopez in March through a Facebook page where families in need could find baby items, CNN reported. Eventually, the two met up at least twice, police said, the young mother going missing after accepting Figueroa’s offer for free baby clothes.

Avila emphasized on Friday that Yovanny’s funeral will be a private and intimate event, and is asking that only family attend.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.