Credibility:

  • Original Reporting
  • On the Ground
  • Sources Cited
Original Reporting This article contains new, firsthand information uncovered by its reporter(s). This includes directly interviewing sources and research/analysis of primary source documents.
On the Ground Indicates that a Newsmaker/Newsmakers was/were physically present to report the article from some/all of the location(s) it concerns.
Sources Cited As a news piece, this article cites verifiable, third-party sources which have all been thoroughly fact-checked and deemed credible by the Newsroom.
Raquel Uriostegui (sunglasses) remembered her daughter as a kind, humorous, “happy girl” with many dreams. “She was an angel,” her mother said. Credit: Mauricio Peña / Block Club Chicago

WEST ENGLEWOOD — Grandparents of slain teenager Marlen Ochoa Uriostegui Lopez were granted a humanitarian visa to lay their granddaughter to rest this Saturday.

Earlier this week, the family members arrived to O’Hare International airport from Guerrero and Aguas Caliente, Mexico after receiving 20-day humanitarian parole to attend the wake and memorial service for their granddaughter who was brutally murdered last month.

Julie Contreras, a spokeswoman for the family and chair of LULAC National Immigration Committee, called the reunion “painful” and “bittersweet.”

Previously: Murdered Teen’s Car Collected 3 Parking Tickets Near Alleged Killers’ Home While Detectives Searched For Her

“They haven’t seen their family in almost 20 years…It’s bittersweet because you’re embracing your child during their pain,” Contreras said.

At the end of every phone conversation, the 19-year-old would tell her grandparents that she “would see them soon, and give them a big hug and a kiss,” Contreras said.

Despite current stringent immigration policies, Contreras thanked Laredo Texas port of entry for granting the 20-day visa and LULAC National president Domingo Garcia, who sponsored airfare from Laredo Texas to Chicago.

Uriostegui Lopez’s parents arrived in Chicago from Guerrero, Mexico when she was two years old, her mother Raquel Uriostegui said last week after leaving the Medical Examiner’s office.

Raquel Uriostegui (sunglasses) remembered her daughter as a kind, humorous, “happy girl” with many dreams. “She was an angel,” her mother said. Credit: Mauricio Pena/Block Club Chicago

Her daughter’s dream was to see her grandparents.

Her mother pleaded for assistance for help getting travel visas for her daughter’s grandparents.

“Even if she can’t be here physically, I want to give her last wish,” she said.

Uriostegui Lopez was murdered after meeting up with a woman to exchange baby clothes for a stroller on April 23. After her murder, the baby was cut from her womb and is in “grave condition” at Advocate Christ Medical Center.

Clarisa Figueroa, Desiree Figueroa and Pitor Bobak have been charged with her murder. 

On Tuesday, the slain teenager grandparents arrived to O’Hare International Airport.

“For us, it’s very painful, especially being so far away,” Ochoa-Lopez’s grandmother said, according to a Tribune report. “It hurts us profoundly that we lost our granddaughter. We have come here to give our final goodbye.”

Visitation is scheduled from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at Mount Auburn Funeral Home at 4101 S. Oak Park Ave. in suburban Stickney. 

The funeral is scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday at Mount Auburn Funeral Home’s chapel, and the teen will be buried at Mount Auburn Memorial Park.

Previous coverage:

Mural Pays Tribute To Slain Teenager Marlen Ochoa Lopez In Pilsen

Woman Accused Of Stealing Baby From Teen’s Womb Went Online Looking For Victims: ‘Who Is Due In May,’ Prosecutors Say

Three Charged In Murder Of Little Village Teen Who Had Her Unborn Baby Stolen From Her Womb

Family Of Slain Pregnant Woman Pray For Miracle For Baby, Ask If Undocumented Status Slowed Investigation

Pregnant Little Village Mom Was Picking Up A Stroller When She Was Murdered, Had Baby Stolen From Her Womb

Pregnant Little Village Teen Found Murdered, Her Unborn Baby Stolen From Her Womb

Persons Of Interest Questioned In Disappearance Of Pregnant Teen Marlen Ochoa-Uriostegui

Pregnant Woman, 19, Reported Missing From Little Village

Do stories like this matter to you? Subscribe to Block Club Chicago. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods.

Pilsen, Little Village and West Loop reporterrnrnmauricio@blockclubchi.orgnnPilsen, Little Village and West Loop reporterrnrnmauricio@blockclubchi.org Twitter @MauricioPena