CHICAGO — The boyfriend of a woman who was fatally shot while they were in bed together last month is now being charged with manslaughter in connection with her death and the death of the baby she was carrying. Prosecutors initially charged Robert Pasco III only with gun possession violations following the January 16 shooting in the 5800 block of West Newport.
But Chicago police announced overnight that prosecutors have approved additional charges, and Pasco, 42, will be in court for a detention hearing this afternoon.
Pasco allegedly told police that he thought his girlfriend, 35-year-old Edith Castrejon, was trying to move a firearm that he slept with when it discharged, striking her in the chest.
Castrejon was five months pregnant at the time of the shooting. Doctors delivered the baby before she succumbed to her injuries, but he also died a week later.
Two days after the shooting, prosecutors asked Judge William Fahy to keep Pasco in jail on a charge of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. But the judge rejected that request and set Pasco free.
Prosecutors will once again try to keep Pasco in jail pending trial on Wednesday as they introduce new charges of involuntary manslaughter of a family member, felony child endangerment, and three counts of misdemeanor child endangerment.
The misdemeanor charges stem from allegations that three children between the ages of 3 and 7 were also in the home when the shooting occurred. They were not injured.
