A man accepted a plea deal on Monday for his role in the murder of Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, whose baby was removed from her womb in April 2019 by a woman from the Southwest Side who wanted to claim it as her own.
Piotr Bobak, 44, accepted a four-year sentence on a lesser charge of obstructing justice. He was initially charged with obstructing justice and concealing a homicide.
“I regret every minute it of it all,” Bobak said at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse during a hearing. He apologized to the victims’ families and stated that he hopes to make amends with them one day.
Bobak claimed that the two women charged in the case, Bobak’s then-girlfriend Clarisa Figueroa and her daughter Desiree Figueroa, misled him. Their cases are still being heard.
Judge Peggy Chimpas noted that Bobak has already served nearly three and a half years in Cook County Jail and will be released in less than four months. He will be on parole for six months after his release.
According to prosecutors, Bobak cleaned up the murder scene and claimed the infant was his son in order to solicit charitable donations. However, Bobak’s lawyer claimed that he was unaware of the murder plot and had been duped by the Figueroas.
“Peter was used by them,” attorney Jeff Steinback said in court on Monday.
According to the plea agreement, Bobak met Clarisa Figueroa at a Joliet addiction clinic. According to the agreement, Figueroa lied to Bobak about being pregnant with his child, and he believed her.
According to Bobak’s lawyer, Clarisa Figueroa targeted him because he wanted to start a family of his own. “He was the perfect tool for Clarisa,” Steinback explained.
Clarisa Figueroa and her daughter are accused of strangling the 19-year-old pregnant Ochoa-Lopez and severing her unborn child. Yovanny Jadiel Lopez, the baby, died months later, in June 2019.
According to prosecutors, Clarisa Figueroa’s alleged murder plot began in late 2018 when she claimed to be pregnant. Even though she wasn’t expecting a child, she posted pictures of ultrasounds online.
The charade came to an end in April of 2019 when she lured Ochoa-Lopez to her Scottsdale neighborhood home, strangled her, and cut her baby from her womb with the help of her 24-year-old daughter.
Prosecutors said Marlen Ochoa-Lopez was responding to a Facebook ad for free baby clothes.
Clarisa Figueroa and Desiree Figuero have pleaded not guilty to a 27-count indictment that includes first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated battery of a child, and body dismemberment.
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