Sword and Scale Nightmares - Laborious

Episode Date: October 16, 2024

When a 46-year-old woman calls 9-11 for help after a sudden home birth, suspicions are raised when she shows no signs of labor. Police would soon discover the grisly truth behind the baby’s unexpected birth.

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with code RIGHTHERE24. It was April 23rd, 2019, and 46-year-old Clarissa Figueroa found herself dialing 911. The heavy-set woman sat in her living room, clutching a baby boy in her arms as she pinched her cell phone between her ear and shoulder. Her hands and shirt were covered in blood. The baby's umbilical cord was still hanging from its stomach. The newborn was turning blue. Clarissa told the dispatcher that she had just given birth to her son at home. Something happened. She wasn't sure, but now the baby wasn't breathing.

Clarissa stood on her front porch, rocking the baby's delicate body back and forth As she waited for the sounds of sirens to flood down the street When the ambulance arrived they scooped up the baby Loaded Clarissa into the ambulance and rushed them to the Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oaklawn At the hospital the baby boy was swiftly admitted to labor and delivery with Clarissa close behind, but it was soon determined that the boy had no brain activity. Doctors and nurses got to work, doing everything they could to save the fragile newborn. Clarissa, nestled to the tiny infant, watched closely as his tender body was plucked with

needles and tubes. He had dark olive skin and a head of wispy, black hair. I want to call him Xavier Xander, Clarissa told the staff, they put his name on the baby's cradle. Welcome to Sword and Scale Nightmares. True crime for bedtime. Where nightmare begins now. At Humana, our Medicare Advantage plans give you coverage and care you can count on, along with guided support to help you feel your best. You could have a plan with a zero dollar premium or an all-in-one plan that may include medical

and prescription coverage, as well as routine dental, vision, and hearing. Learn more at GetHumana.com. Humana, a more human way to healthcare. Humana is a Medicare Advantage HMO and PPO organization with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in any Humana plan depends on contract renewal. Clarissa Figueroa spent weeks at the Advocate Christ Medical Center next to Xavier, praying he would survive. Soon, the father of the baby, Clarissa's 40-year-old boyfriend, Pete Bobak, came to the hospital. Things were notak came to the hospital.

Things were not looking good for the baby. He had no brain activity and the doctors were concerned that he wouldn't make it through. Pete and Clarissa posted photos and hopeful messages on their Facebook pages asking for love and support during this trying time. Pete wrote, My son is a fighter. Made it this far, but not much time left. Life support, brain dead, not much function in the brain. Born 4-23-2019 at 6.39 p.m. Clarissa and Pete even made a GoFundMe page

asking for $9,000 in donations to help with medical costs and the potential funeral costs for little Xavier. On the GoFundMe page, Clarissa outlined the story of Xavier's traumatic home birth, saying that at 36 weeks she had experienced weird abdominal pains and then she gave birth to her son within moments. The story also claimed that Clarissa had preeclampsia, which is a rare condition that some pregnant women get, starting at 20 weeks which results in high blood pressure, swelling of the extremities, and can cause serious trauma for both a mother

and her baby. Kim Kardashian had it, just in case that helps ring a bell. While Xavier clung to life, Clarissa and Pete continued to push their GoFundMe page and take snapshots for their social media pages. But one of the other moms caught Clarissa in what appears to be a strange lie. You see, in prior threads Clarissa had told the group that she had her fallopian tubes tied, which meant it was impossible for her to get pregnant. How'd you get prego then? They just fall apart on their own? Another mom wrote.

I'd be suing the hospital where they tied them. Girl, we are too old to start over. Sorry, I did the best impression of that person I could with my terrible acting. I apologize. Anyway, let's continue. Clarissa responded, claiming that she didn't have her fallopian tubes untied, but that after emergency appendix surgery, the doctors discovered a cyst on her ovary. Once they removed it, something happened which resulted in her magically getting pregnant

again. Any first-year medical student can probably tell you that's not how that works, but whatever. It was a suspicious story at best, and Clarissa's lack of punctuation and horrible spelling didn't really make it more believable. In case you haven't noticed, the people on Twitter that misspelled the most are the dumbest. No exceptions. But still, other moms on the page sent over their virtual congratulations to Clarissa and continued to like her posts wherever she mentioned her miracle pregnancy. Doesn't sound at all like attention-seeking behavior.

I digress. Plus, too many personal opinions in this episode. Apologies. Then, in late April of 2019, a few days before she gave birth to Xavier, Clarissa posted on the page, Who is due in May? Where the May mamas at? A bunch of women all jumped in, including a 19-year-old pregnant high schooler named Marlon Ochoa Lopez.

Despite being a full-time student at the Latino Youth High School in Chicago, Illinois, Marlon was ecstatic to be having her second baby with her husband, Yovanni Lopez. The couple had already had a son, Joshua, who was three years old, and though they were a young family on a tight budget, they were happy. Hello ladies, I'm due May 10th and I still need lots of things, Marlin wrote on Claris's thread. Due to the fact that I'm in school and can't work at the moment, I can't afford to buy the rest of the things because I'm short on cash right now."

Marlin went on to explain that she was looking for a double stroller and a few other necessities. That's when Clarissa jumped in. She had all those things and was happy to give them to Marlin. She explained that her daughter had been blessed with too many baby showers, and she was just happy to share the wealth. She gave Marlin her address and they agreed on a time to meet up. On April 23, Marlin drove her car to Clarissa's Southside neighborhood. She parked a few blocks away and waddled up to the front door. Clarissa met her with a smile and led her downstairs to the basement. On April 24, 2023, Yovany Lopez called the Chicago Police Department and asked to be

connected with a Spanish-speaking officer. Marlon's husband didn't have strong English, and he was already extra nervous. His pregnant wife Marlon hadn't come home from school the previous day. Giovanni explained to the police that Marlon was nine months pregnant, and this wasn't like her. She was a responsible mother who would never disappear. The police told Giovanni to wait another 72 hours and then call back. Marlon was an adult. In the meantime, they would check the local hospitals and keep lookout

for her car. Giovanni contacted Marlon's family in Iowa, and they came to Chicago to support their son-in-law and help find their daughter. As the police continued to investigate Marlon's mysterious disappearance, more of her friends at school came forward. One mentioned that Marlon had lost her mucus plug at school on the day that she vanished. When a woman is in labor, one of the earliest signs of labor before contractions or her water breaks is that she will lose something called her mucus plug. This signals the baby is ready to start descending, the birth canal.

And 48 is the age at which I've learned this, by the way, so don't feel bad, guys. Another friend told the family that she had spoken to Marlin on April 23rd, and that she had told her she was having contractions. It was clear that on the day Marlin disappeared, she was in early labor. Still, no one could find her at any of the local hospitals. No Marlin, no Jane Doe's matching her description, nothing. It wasn't until the police were given a screenshot from the Help a Sister Out Facebook page that they found the messages between her and Clarissa Figueroa discussing what time and day Marlin

could come over and pick up the free baby clothes. Police drove to Clarissa's house and soon discovered that the 46-year-old woman actually lived in her mother's basement. A neighbor from across the street came outside and told police that Clarissa was not home. She had given birth a few days prior and had been whisked away in an ambulance. Police made their way around the property and were confronted by a 24-year-old pregnant woman who claimed to be Clarissa's daughter. The black-haired lady with an awkward facial tattoo above her eyebrow reluctantly introduced herself as

Desiree and told them that her mother was at the Advocate Christ Medical Center with her new baby. When detectives showed up at the hospital, they found Clarissa and Pete sitting next to Xavier, staring at the mess of tubes and wires strung in and around the infant. The couple looked stunned as the team of detectives waltzed into the hospital room and started asking about Marlin. Clarissa sat up straight and cleared her throat.

She knew Marlin, yes, but they hadn't met up on April 23rd. Clarissa had cancelled at the last minute. She casually mentioned that Marlin was unhappy with her husband, Yovani. She wants to go back to Iowa with her family, Clarissa gossiped as the officers swabbed her mouth for DNA. She told me the last time we met up and traded baby clothes. When they asked Clarissa where she had done all her prenatal visits, she flippantly threw out the name of another nonprofit hospital.

But when the officers double-checked, they had zero records of any patient named Clarissa Figueroa. Meanwhile, a search warrant had zero records of any patient named Clarissa Figueroa. Meanwhile, a search warrant for Clarissa's mother's house had been granted and police officers were on the property. The small brick house had a large cement patio area between the back of the house and the garage that was barren except for a line of trash bins, a fire pit and some small wet

doormats strewn around that stunk like bleach. Besides the bleach there was another distinct smell in the air that the police officers could not ignore. It came in waves through the spring breeze traveling back to its source. A garbage can with a big bag of mulch on top. One officer bravely removed the lid and started digging through the bin. He lifted up a bag of beer cans and the smell got stronger. Then he found a duvet. They took multiple officers to tip

over the heavy trash can, but when they did, the crumbled and bloody body of Marlin rolled rolled out. She was purple and decomposing, except for the sequins on her shirt. There was a large jagged slice across her abdomen, and her rotting brown intestines were spilling out in chunks like ground meat. Rolled up next to her, inside the bloody gray duvet was an ex-acto knife and three blood-stained surgical clamps. It took only a matter of days to determine that Clarissa and Pete were not the biological parents of Xavier Zander. The baby's DNA matched Marlon and Giovanni. Pete, Clarissa, and her daughter Desiree were all arrested. Chubby and dim-witted Clarissa continued to protest and stick to her story.

Xavier was her baby. Pete denied his involvement and fumbled through his interrogation. After all, the petty criminal had a record ten miles long and was terrified to be sitting in police custody again, especially for something he claimed he knew nothing about. But Pete had posted ultrasound images on his Facebook page for the last few months, boasting with pride about the son he was about to have. It turned out that these images were taken from Google and doctored to include Clarissa's information.

Had Pete created these images and he knew what was happening all along? Or had Clarissa lied, made them herself and given them to Pete to keep up her pregnancy scam? It wasn't until the police talked to Desiree that they got the truth. Desiree was cold and emotionless as she explained what happened on April 23rd. She said that Marlin showed up at the house and Clarissa invited her in with a smile. Following her mother's instructions, Desiree invited the pregnant teenager to relax on the couch with her. Desiree snuggled up beside Marlon,

making small talk about her own pregnancy while Clarissa prepared in the other room. Desiree showed Marlon a photo album that Clarissa had strategically placed on the coffee table. Marlon smiled and nodded along as Desiree showed her pictures of her brother Xavier. Yes, Xavier. Clarissa had a son named Xavier who had suddenly died in 2017. He was Clarissa's only son. The boy of the family. Clarissa had never healed from his death. As Desiree pointed at pictures of her deceased brother, Clarissa slowly crept up behind Marlin and in one swift motion wrapped a coaxial cord around the teenager's neck.

Marlin gasped and flung her hands upward, trying to pry her fingers under the cord. The Clarissa was too strong, too determined. She snarled and cinched it tighter and tighter. Marlin was pressed back into the faded fabric of the couch, kicking her legs and choking. She fought with every fiber of her being as color and light escaped her world. The cord was too tight and Clarissa was too big and too strong. She easily had 160 pounds on Marlin. You're not doing your fucking job! Clarissa screamed at her daughter.

Desiree snapped into action and straddled Marlin, holding her arms at her side so that the victim couldn't move at all. She squished down on Marlin's protruding belly and watched Marlin struggle under the weight of Desiree's own pregnant body and the noose around her neck. Silence hung in the room as Marlin's flaying subsided and her body fell limp. It took five minutes to kill the young mother.

When Clarissa was sure that she was dead, she breathlessly hoisted herself up and dropped the cord. Get the knife, she instructed her daughter. Desiree used a butcher's knife to cut open Marlin's abdomen. She pressed down carefully, slicing the tender side of Marlin's baby bump, so as not to harm the living child inside her victim. Desiree channeled the precision of a surgeon,

and the two women soon lifted the baby out of Marlin's bloody womb. This makeshift caesarean section had worked. As Marlin bled out on the couch, Desiree grabbed a towel and they quickly wrapped the baby. The placenta and umbilical cord were still attached. The baby was taking short, labored breaths. Clarissa rocked him and panicked. She knew she had no choice but to call 911. Desiree and Clarissa rolled Marlin's body up in a duvet and hid it in the bedroom. Desiree would dispose of it later.

The baby was turning blue and they had to get help. They had to get help. Now. Clarissa wanted nothing more than to replace the son she had lost with a new baby. But her fallopian tubes were tied and she was 46 years old. Some of us can't seem to accept the fact that we all get older, become infertile, and die. Clarissa was closer to menopause than childbearing and already had four children.

Desiree, her deceased adult son Xavier, as well as twin daughters, who she was estranged from for some reason. They were disgusted and shocked by what their mother and half-sister had done. and shocked by what their mother and half-sister had done. They couldn't even fathom such pure evil. Giovanni was taken to the hospital to be reunited with his son. They renamed the baby Giovanni Jr. and his father held him for days while he struggled to survive. But in mid-June, the baby succumbed to his injuries and passed away. Marlin's family was enraged that the hospital hadn't called authorities.

It turned out that many members of the staff at Advocate Christ Medical Center were concerned about the legitimacy of Clarissa's birth. But they didn't say anything. They just kept their mouths shut and went about their day. The OB who examined her even admitted that she cleaned what was now determined to be Marlon's blood off Clarissa's hands and face.

Marlin's family got an advocate and began to talk about suing the hospital. Rightfully so. Desiree and Clarissa pleaded not guilty to their 27-count indictment. As of the writing of this episode, they have not yet gone to trial. Pete Boback took a plea deal, admitting that he helped cover up the murder and that he accepted false charitable donations. With his time served, he was only given six months on parole. Marlin's poor family continues to fight for her legacy. On the anniversary of

her death this past April, the whole family gathered at their church to celebrate Marlin's life and pray for justice to be served. A large colorful mural of Marlin was painted outside their church, a memory of her, frozen in time. Marlin's living son is still confused as to why he can't see her anymore. He asks me where his mother is, and I'm his mother now, Marlin's mother-in-law told reporters. We can't explain it to him, he's still a child. We just tell him she's looking over him from heaven. Clarissa and Desiree will soon face a courtroom.

And I hope that these wretched women are shown no mercy. The same amount that they showed innocent, beautiful Marlon Ochoa-Lopez on the day that they stole her life and her child. If you enjoyed the show, please consider joining PLUS at swordandscale.com slash PLUS. But if you can't, consider leaving us a positive review on your preferred listening platform. Sweet dreams and good night. you