Clarisa Figueroa is accused of masterminding the plot to murder a pregnant teenager and steal her unborn child. She enlisted her daughter to help, according to prosecutors, and now her daughter will testify against her in court.
One of two Illinois women accused of murdering a pregnant teenager and then cutting her unborn child out of her womb has agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors.
Desiree Figueroa, 29, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in a Chicago courtroom on Monday, four years after the death of 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa-Lopez.
The Cook County State's Attorney's Office tells Inside Edition Digital that pursuant to the plea agreement, their office will recommend a sentence of 30 years in prison for Desiree. As part of the deal Desiree also agreed to testify against the woman accused of masterminding this brutal murder — her mother, Clarisa Figueroa.
Clarisa has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and aggravated battery. Her trial is set to start later this month.
A bond court proffer obtained by Inside Edition Digital says that Clarisa, who was 46 at the time, told her daughter she was pregnant in 2018 despite the fact that she had her tubes tied.
She shared a photo of an ultrasound on social media a few months later and then joined a Facebook group for moms and moms-to-be, according to the proffer.
That is where Clarisa met the victim, who is identified in the proffer as Marlen Ochoa Uriostegu.
Clarisa spoke about preparing a nursery and getting ready for the arrival of her son Xander, which is the same name of the son she had lost one year prior, according to the proffer.
She sought out the victim because of her May due date and offered to provide her with baby clothes, according to the proffer.
Ochoa-Lopez first visited the Figueroa household on April 1, at which time Desiree told her boyfriend, who was also present in the house, about her mother's plan to murder the young woman, according to the proffer.
When the boyfriend threatened to call police, Desiree cited the date of April 1 and said it was joke, says the proffer.
Ochoa-Lopez then visited the house a few weeks later, which is when the two women allegedly carried out the brutal murder.
The proffer details how the women allegedly killed Ochoa-Lopez:
Clarisa wrapped a cable around her hands and then wrapped it around [Ochoa-Lopez's] neck from behind her. [Ochoa-Lopez] attempted to stop Clarisa and was able to place her fingers between her neck and the cable. At that point, Clarisa told Desiree "You’re not doing your f***ing job." Desiree then stepped up and began to peel [Ochoa-Lopez's] fingers from the cable one by one. Once [Ochoa-Lopez's] fingers were no longer blocking the cable, Clarisa tightened the cable around [Ochoa-Lopez's] neck.
Once Ochoa-Lopez was dead, Clarisa allegedly got to work removing the unborn child from the dead teen's womb, says the proffer.
She allegedly cut open Ochoa-Lopez's womb, extracted the unborn child, put the dead mother's body in a trash bag, and then stashed the bag in a trash can by her garage, according to the proffer.
Clarisa then called 911 to report that she had given birth and the baby was not breathing, says the proffer, a decision that proved to be crucial for investigators.
The baby tragically died, and doctors quickly realized Clarisa had not given birth. DNA submitted by the father of the child soon proved that the mother was Ochoa-Lopez, says the proffer.
Police then discovered the victim's body in the trash during a search of Clarisa's residence, says the proffer.
This information and the details about the murder largely come from Desiree's "full video recorded confession," according to the proffer.
Mother and daughter were arrested after police discovered the body. Six months later Desiree gave birth in prison.
At the time of her arrest, Clarisa still claimed that it was her baby that died and had even created a GoFundMe account seeking funds to help her after what she claimed was her loss.
Lawyers for both Desiree and Clarisa did not respond to requests for comment.
