The boyfriend of a woman who was fatally shot while the two were in bed together earlier this year has been sentenced to 12 years in prison, according to court records. The shooting also claimed the life of the woman’s unborn child.
Robert Pasco III, 43, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter of a family member in exchange for a 12-year sentence from Judge Mary Brosnahan. Pasco must serve half of his sentence, with a projected release date of February 8, 2030.
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According to prosecutors, Pasco told police that the January 16 shooting was inadvertent and that he thought his girlfriend, Edith Castrejon, was attempting to relocate a pistol he kept beneath his pillow when it discharged, striking her in the chest. Pasco allegedly attempted to conceal the pistol after the incident by storing it in a closet in the couple’s house on the 5800 block of West Newport Avenue.
Castrejon, 35, died from a gunshot wound. She was 22 weeks pregnant with her expected son, Jesus. Doctors delivered the baby before Castrejon died from her injuries, but he died approximately a week later as a result of preterm birth issues.
According to authorities, two additional children, ages three and seven, were sleeping in the room at the time of the incident. A bullet was later discovered stuck in a bunk bed where one of the youngsters slept, according to a CPD report.
Prosecutors initially charged Pasco with gun possession offenses but then added additional charges, including involuntary homicide of a family member. According to the criminal complaint, the pistol was an unregistered “ghost gun,” which is an untraceable weapon made out of individually purchased parts or kits.
Pasco’s criminal history is substantial, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records, with convictions for Class X armed habitual criminal in 2015, aggravated discharge of a handgun in 2005, and aggravated unauthorized use of a weapon in 2004 and 2002.
