Man gets 4 years in cover-up of death of Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, whose baby was cut from her womb

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.

“I regret every minute of it all,” Bobak said during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse. He apologized to the victims’ family and said he hopes to one day make amends with them.

La Voz Sidebar

Lea este artículo en español en La Voz Chicago, la sección bilingüe del Sun-Times.

Bobak said he was misled by the two women charged in the case, Bobak’s then-girlfriend, Clarisa Figueroa, and her daughter, Desiree Figueroa. Their cases are still pending.

Judge Peggy Chimpas noted that Bobak has already served a little over 3 ¹⁄₂ years in Cook County Jail, and will serve less than four months more. After he’s released, he will be on parole for six months.

In an interview Monday, Ochoa-Lopez’s father, Arnuful Ochoa, said he was disappointed with the court’s ruling.

“I disagree, but there is nothing we can do. Unfortunately that’s how the laws work in this country. They are just giving him the opportunity to continue committing crimes,” Ochoa said in Spanish.

Prosecutors have said Bobak cleaned up the murder scene and claimed the infant was his son in a bid to get charitable donations.

Bobak was allegedly outside the Figueroa’s Scottsdale home, rinsing off a rug with bleach and a hose when police arrived with a warrant to search the house and discovered Ochoa-Lopez’s body in a trash can three weeks after she was killed. When Bobak spotted the officers, he dropped the bottle of bleach and walked inside the home, prosecutors said.

But Bobak’s lawyer claimed he was unaware of the murder plot and was misled by the Figueroas.

“Piotr was used by them,” attorney Jeff Steinback said in court Monday.

The plea agreement states that Bobak met Clarisa Figueroa at a Joliet clinic. Figueroa lied to Bobak about being pregnant with his baby, and he believed her, the agreement states.

Bobak’s lawyer said Bobak was targeted by Clarisa Figueroa because he was looking to make a family of his own. “He was the perfect tool for Clarisa,” Steinback said.

Ochoa-Lopez’s family, who have been vocal at past court hearings, was absent Monday. The judge asked if the family had been informed of the hearing, and the attorneys said they had.

Ochoa said he didn’t feel comfortable attending the hearing knowing the results of the plea deal.

“The truth is that I’m afraid that [Bobak] will see us in court. He is going to be released and be free, but we are going to continue living with the fear that something else could happen. We don’t know what his intentions are,” Ochoa said.

Clarisa Figueroa and her daughter 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 expecting a baby.

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 her womb.

Marlen Ochoa-Lopez had been responding to a Facebook ad for free baby clothes, prosecutors said.

Clarisa and Desiree Figueroa 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.

Cook County sheriff’s office mugshot