There’s an update to the tragic story of the murder of Marlen Ochoa-Lopez.
Her son, who was forcibly removed from her womb, opened his eyes for the first time two weeks ago.
Now, he has begun to show intermittent signs of breathing on his own, according to People.
According to a family spokesperson, Emma Lozano, the baby remains in critical condition and on life support.
But there is hope.
“The baby is starting to be weaned off the respirator, but there’s a long way to go and we’re all praying for a miracle,” a spokesman for the family, pastor Emma Lozano, tells People.
The 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa-Lopez was nine months pregnant when she went missing on April 23. The 19-year-old was due to give birth on May 5.
Police found her shortly after midnight on May 14 on Chicago’s Southwest Side.
Chicago police say that Ochoa-Lopez was strangled, and then her unborn child was cut out of her body.
“We believe that she was murdered and we believe that the baby (was) forcibly removed following that murder,” Chicago Police Department’s chief spokesman, Anthony Guglielmi, said.
Clarisa Figueroa and her daughter Desiree Figueroa, are charged with Ochoa-Lopez’s murder. Clarisa’s boyfriend, Piotr Bobak, was charged with the concealment of a homicide.
Authorities believe that Clarisa Figueroa lured Marlen Ochoa-Lopez to her home by promising baby items via a Facebook group.
She then snuck up behind the expecting mom and strangled her with a coaxial cable, authorities say.
The 46-year-old Clarisa Figueroa called 911 to claim that Figueroa herself had just given birth and the newborn was not breathing.
Paramedics rushed the baby boy to a hospital where he was put on life support with no brain function.
Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson speculated the suspects wanted to “raise the child as their own.”
A GoFundMe page has been created by the child’s biological family. So far, they have raised more than $56,000.
“With all my heart I keep asking for your help,” the father wrote. “Pray as my son recovers.”
We are praying for that sweet baby and his family. God please touch his little body and heal him. Amen☝️
