The grieving family of a murdered mother and her newborn baby were reportedly hit with $300,000 in hospital bills for the care of the infant who was allegedly ripped from his mother’s womb by her killers.
The Chicago Sun Times reports that Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn sent the family of Marlen Ochoa-Lopez and her infant son Yvonny Lopez numerous bills that total over $300,000. Clarisa Figueroa, the woman accused of killing Ochoa-Lopez before cutting the baby out of her womb, came to the hospital on April 23 claiming that she had given birth to the baby boy, who lived for several weeks until he died on June 14.
According to multiple reports, some of the bills sent to the victims’ family cover the period of time when the hospital believed the baby belonged to his mother’s killer.
Ochoa-Lopez, 19, was reportedly lured to Figueroa’s home on the pretense of receiving baby supplies. Clarisa Figueroa and her daughter Desiree allegedly killed the mother before cutting the baby from her womb on April 23, roughly two weeks away from the mother’s due date.
According to WGN-9, the bills sent to the family include the killer’s surname.
“Our hearts and prayers continue to be with the Ochoa-Lopez family during this difficult time,” the hospital said in a statement obtained by the news statin.
“We have had discussions with the family regarding inadvertent billing and we regret this error. We take our obligation to patient privacy seriously, and therefore are unable to comment further regarding care, services or billing.”
The young mother’s grieving relatives have publicly criticized the staff at the hospital for failing to make the connection that Figueroa had not given birth to the baby she claimed was her own, despite publicized reports of multiple missing pregnant women in the Chicago area at the time.
Clarissa and Desiree Figueroa are facing murder charges in the death of Ochoa-Lopez and her baby.
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