The hospital says the bills were sent in error.
Weeks after the death of little Yovanny Lopez, who was cut from his mother's womb when she was killed in April, the baby's family said they continued to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in bills from the hospital where he was taken and treated.
The attorney for the family said bills totaling about $300,000 were sent to the baby's father, Yovany Lopez, after the child died on June 14, according to multiple reports.
Police say the baby's mother, 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, died when 46-year-old Clarisa Figueroa and and 24 year-old Desiree Figueroa lured her to their house and strangled her on April 23.
The mother and daughter then cut the baby from Marlen’s womb, and Clarisa allegedly tried to pass the baby off as her own when they called an ambulance for the unresponsive newborn. Marlen's body wasn't found until May 15.
After arriving at the Christ Advocate Hospital, the baby was on life support for weeks, having suffered brain damage in the attack.
The hospital bills the Lopez family reportedly listed the baby as "Figueroa Boy," and some were dated from those weeks when Clarisa was claiming to be the boy's mother, despite showing no signs of having given birth.
Other bills were reportedly dated weeks after the Figueroa's were arrested charged with Marlen's murder.
Christ Advocate Hospital told several media outlets that the bills were sent in error and that the hospital regrets the mistake. The hospital would not comment further due to patient privacy.
The hospital acknowledged Thursday that the bill was "inadvertently sent" and the hospital "regrets this error," but said it could not comment further due to patient privacy.
"Our hearts and prayers continue to be with the Ochoa-Lopez family during this difficult time," the hospital said in a statement to NBC Chicago.
Though Clarisa claimed the baby was hers, police eventually discovered the baby was Marlen’s through a DNA test.
Little Yovanny's condition was initially considered dire, but over the weeks, he began to show small signs of improvement. He started breathing on his own after six weeks and his family was hopeful he'd pull through. He even opened his tiny eyes, and his dad got to hold him.
However, his health took a turn for the worse in June and he died.
Clarisa and Desiree were charged with first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated battery in Marlen's death and had both pleaded not guilty.
They were later charged with another count of murder in Yovanny's death, and they were denied bond.
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