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 resulted in the death of the woman’s unborn child.
Robert Pasco III, 43, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter of a family member in exchange for the 12-year sentence imposed by Judge Mary Brosnahan. Pasco must serve half of the sentence, giving him an anticipated release date of February 8, 2030.
According to prosecutors, Pasco told police the January 16 shooting was unintentional, saying he believed his girlfriend, Edith Castrejon, was attempting to move a firearm that he kept under his pillow when the weapon discharged, striking her in the chest. Pasco allegedly tried to hide the firearm after the shooting by placing it inside a closet of the couple’s home in the 5800 block of West Newport Avenue.
Castrejon, 35, died from the gunshot wound. She was 22 weeks pregnant at the time with her expected son, Jesus. Doctors delivered the baby before Castrejon succumbed to her injuries, but he died about a week later due to complications of prematurity.
Authorities said two other children, ages 3 and 7, were also sleeping in the room at the time of the shooting. A bullet was later found lodged in a bunk bed where one of the children slept, according to a CPD report.
Prosecutors initially charged Pasco only with gun possession violations, but later approved additional charges, including involuntary manslaughter of a family member. A criminal complaint described the firearm as an unregistered “ghost gun,” a type of untraceable weapon assembled from individually purchased parts or kits.
Illinois Department of Corrections records show Pasco has an extensive criminal history that includes convictions for Class X armed habitual criminal in 2015, aggravated discharge of a firearm in 2005, and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in 2004 and 2002.
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