Marlen Ochoa-Lopez's visitation begins, murdered Pilsen woman's funeral scheduled for Saturday

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Friday, May 24, 2019
Visitation for murdered pregnant Pilsen woman begins Thursday
People began paying their respects Thursday to a 19-year-old Chicago woman who was murdered when she was nine months pregnant and had her baby taken from her womb.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- People began paying their respects Thursday to a 19-year-old Chicago woman who was murdered when she was nine months pregnant and had her baby taken from her womb.

A visitation for Marlen Ochoa-Lopez will be held at Mount Auburn Funeral Home, 4101 S. Oak Park Ave. in Stickney from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday.

Her funeral service will also be held at Mount Auburn Funeral Home on Saturday from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. A chapel service is scheduled for 11 a.m.

Relatives arrived from Mexico to grieve the young woman.

"I think they are finally all together as a family and they can mourn," said Pastor Emma Lozano, family spokesperson. "It's been very difficult, the whole ordeal and the tragedy."

"We don't want to remember the way she died but the way she uplifted everybody with her love," said Cecilia Garcia, family spokesperson.

Gaby Hernandez didn't know Ochoa-Lopez, but came to pay her respects anyway. Hernandez is a member of the Facebook group where Ochoa-Lopez met the woman accused of killing her.

"I had a double stroller," she said. "I could've given her that. And, you know. It's upsetting. It's, like, heartbreaking."

Many others who came had likewise never met her, but many were also mothers themselves who felt a kinship to the young woman, who also left a three-year-old child behind.

"It's heartbreaking to see a young girl like that. She left kids behind," said Maria Rubio, while fighting back tears. "I've got kids. It hurts. It, it hurts."

"It's just so sad to see what happened to her,' said Patricia Cortez, attended visitation. "It's just unbelievable. It's still mind-blowing."

Her family also met her baby, little Yovani, who is struggling to survive. His condition has improved, but he remains on life support. The family is praying he survives.

WATCH: Murdered Pilsen woman's husband shares video of baby taken from womb in hospital

Yovani Lopez shares Facebook live of his baby in the hospital after he was taken from his mother, Marlen Ochoa-Lopez's womb.

"Doctors say the brain activity has improved and that's a miracle in itself," Lozano said.

"He is moving a little bit now in his hands and his feet," Lozano added. "They said he opened his eyes just a tiny bit, and that was the first time that happened."

"I was just grabbing his little hand, he moved it around and his little hand warmed up because they've been so cold. It was so emotional," said the baby's maternal great grandmother Benigna Perez Castañeda.

Yovani Lopez, Marlen's husband and Yovani's father, shared an update on Facebook Live on his son.

The family says his condition has improved, offering a small ray of hope in this tragedy.

"There's more movement, they see more activity," said Marlen's mother, Raquel, Uriostegui.

We can still find hope': Artist creates mural for murdered Pilsen woman

The murder of Marlen Ochoa-Lopez has affected people all over the city, including an artist who turned his shock and horror, into a thing of beauty.

Ochoa-Lopez was last seen in Pilsen on April 23. She was nine months pregnant and due in early May. Three weeks later, her remains were found near a home on the city's Southwest Side. Police say she was murdered on the day she disappeared, and her baby was taken from her womb after her death.

3 charged in murder of pregnant Chicago woman denied bond

Her alleged killer, police said, lured Ochoa-Lopez to her home with the promise of free baby clothes.

According to police, 46-year-old Clarisa Figueroa killed Ochoa-Lopez with the help of her daughter Desiree and then removed the baby from her womb. Figueroa then claimed there was a medical emergency, and told first responders she had just given birth to a baby that was not breathing.

WATCH: Husband speaks about Marlen Ochoa-Lopez's death

"It's so hurtful, so hurtful to see the person, your wife, who you lived with for four years and now you see her with her eyes closed," he said.

The Chicago Fire Department confirmed it responded to the Figueroa home on April 23 and said paramedics transported the newborn, along with Figueroa, to Advocate Christ Medical Center for treatment.

A family spokesperson said there are still a lot of unanswered questions they have over Ochoa-Lopez's murder.

"We have to learn by what happened, and we also demand respect and dignity when something does happen to us, that we should not be ignored," said Lozano.

The state public health department says it will conduct what could be a weeks-long investigation of Christ Medical Center which did not immediately notify DCFS about accused killer Clarisa Figueroa, who brought the baby to the hospital claiming it was hers despite showing no signs she gave birth.

The three people charged in Marlen's murder are being held without bond. They're due back in court next month.