A Portage Park man charged in connection with the death of his pregnant girlfriend last month faces additional charges of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment weeks after she was found shot to death in their bedroom.
Edith Castrejon, 35, was five months pregnant when she was killed Jan. 16. Though doctors delivered her son Jesus Castrejon early, the infant died about a week after his mother at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. He had been thought to have about a one in four chance of survival.
Robert Pasco III, 42, with whom Castrejon shared the infant and three other children, was previously charged with one felony count of unlawful use of a weapon and one misdemeanor count of possessing a firearm without a valid firearm owner’s identification card. He was released two days after the shooting.
On Tuesday, authorities charged Pasco with a felony count of involuntary manslaughter, a felony count of child endangerment/death and three misdemeanor counts of child endangerment.
Late last month, a judge granted Castrejon’s mother —- the guardian of the couple’s surviving children —- an order of protection against Pasco, court records show.
In an affidavit supporting the petition for the order, Castrejon’s mother said her oldest grandson had “informed (her) that he had seen mommy on the floor and that daddy is bad.” She said she was concerned for her grandchildren’s safety while Pasco was on pretrial release and feared that he would harass and stalk all of them.
The order bars Pasco from approaching the woman’s residence in Humboldt Park, her place of work, the children’s schools and Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where Castrejon and her son were both pronounced dead. It also bars Pasco from contacting his children.
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services appointed the children’s grandmother as their guardian, court records show. The children, ages 8, 4 and 6 months, were in the room at the time of the shooting.
Judge Hilda Bahena granted the emergency order of protection Jan. 21, records show. The order was extended Tuesday; a handwritten note on the extension order says “respondent in custody.”
The night of the shooting, Pasco was asleep in his bed with Castrejon when she reached over and grabbed the gun under his pillow, causing Pasco to wake up and shoot her in the upper chest, court records say.
Before police arrived, prosecutors said, Pasco put the 9mm ghost gun in a closet. Pasco has is a convicted felon with multiple prior convictions for weapons offenses, according to court records. Ghost guns are unregistered firearms created from 3D printers.
Pasco is set to appear in court for a detention hearing Wednesday, according to Chicago police.
