A man has been charged in connection with the deaths of his pregnant girlfriend and a 7-day-old boy last month in Portage Park.
Robert Pasco III, 42, was arrested Tuesday and charged with involuntary manslaughter of a family member, causing the death of a child and three misdemeanor counts of child endangerment, Chicago police said.
Pasco allegedly killed Edith Castrejon, 35, who was shot in the chest while the couple were in bed in the 5800 block of West Newport Avenue about 4:50 a.m. Jan. 16, police said.
Castrejon, who was five months’ pregnant, was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where doctors delivered the baby at 5:48 a.m. Castrejon was pronounced dead at 6:24 a.m., the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.
The baby’s condition was critical, and doctors gave him a “25% chance of survival,” according to a police report obtained by the Sun-Times.
The baby, named Jesus Castrejon, was pronounced dead about 7 p.m. Jan. 23.
Pasco told officers that he and Castrejon were in bed with the gun under a pillow. He told officers he thought Castrejon had tried to move the gun when his hand was near it and it went off, striking her in the chest, according to the report. A handgun and a bullet were found at the scene.
Three other children were inside the home at the time of the shooting, including two girls ages 3 and 4, and a 7-year-old boy, police said. They weren’t harmed.
Pasco was previously charged with unlawful use of a weapon by a convicted felon and misdemeanor possessing a firearm without a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification card.
He was expected to appear at a detention hearing Wednesday.