A man accepted a plea deal Monday for his role in covering up the murder of Marlen Ochoa-Lopez — whose baby was cut from her womb in April 2019 by a Southwest Side woman who wanted to claim it as her own.
Piotr Bobak, 44, accepted a plea of 4 years on a reduced charge of obstructing justice. He was initially charged with concealing a homicide and obstructing justice.
The two women charged in the case — Bobak’s then-girlfriend Clarisa Figueroa and her daughter Desiree Figueroa — still have pending cases.
Judge Peggy Chimpas noted that Bobak has already served a little over 3 1⁄2 years in Cook County Jail, so he could be released in less than a half of year. After he’s released, he will serve supervisory release, or probation, for 6 months.
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Prosecutors have said Bobak cleaned up the murder scene and claimed the infant was his son in a bid to get charitable donations.
Clarisa Figueroa and her daughter Desiree Figueroa are accused of strangling the pregnant Ochoa-Lopez, 19, and cutting out her unborn child. The baby, Yovanny Jadiel Lopez, died months later, in June 2019.
Prosecutors said Clarisa Figueroa’s alleged murder plot began in late 2018 when she claimed to be pregnant. She posted pictures of ultrasounds online, even though she wasn’t actually expecting a baby.
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The charade reached its horrific conclusion in April of 2019 when — with the help of her 24-year-old daughter — she lured Ochoa-Lopez to her Scottsdale neighborhood home, strangled her and cut her baby from the womb.
Marlen Ochoa-Lopez had been responding to a Facebook ad for free baby clothes, prosecutors said.
Clarisa Figueroa and Desiree Figuero have pleaded not guilty to a 27-count indictment that includes charges of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated battery of a child and dismembering a body.
