The baby’s condition was initially considered dire, but over the weeks, he began to show small signs of improvement.
A newborn who was fighting for his life after being cut from his mother’s womb has died.
Yovanny Jadiel Lopez, whose name was initially reported spelled as Yovani, had been on life support for weeks after his mother was murdered and had even opened his eyes, but his condition “suddenly deteriorated,” a family friend told the Chicago Sun-Times.
“It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of baby Yovanny Jadiel Lopez,” Lopez family spokeswoman Julie Contreras said in a statement on Facebook, according to the paper. “He passed away this Friday June 14, 2019 from his severe brain injury.”
Yovanny’s mother, 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, was found dead in Chicago on May 15 after missing for weeks.
Police believe Ochoa-Lopez responded to a Facebook post about free baby clothes and met up with Clarisa Figueroa, as she had done one other time before her death.
Police said Clarisa and her daughter, Desiree Figueroa, cut Yovanny from Ochoa-Lopez’s stomach after they strangled her to death with coaxial cable.
Clarisa then allegedly called paramedics, and told them she had given birth and the baby was not breathing. The baby was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was put in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Police eventually discovered the baby was Ochoa-Lopez’s through a DNA test.
The baby’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.
"It's still a long way to go for the baby, but the baby is fighting and surviving," Frank Avila, an attorney for the baby’s father, told reporters at the time.
Clarisa, 46, and Desiree Figueroa, 24, have both been charged with murder, while Clarisa's boyfriend, Piotr Bobak, 40, has been charged with concealing a homicidal death.
The three are expected to enter pleas of not guilty later this month, according to the Chicago Tribune.
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