Boyfriend back in court on gun charge in shooting death of pregnant woman in Portage Park
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The man arrested in connection to the shooting death of his pregnant girlfriend – a mother of three – last week in the Portage Park neighborhood made a brief court appearance on Thursday.
Robert Pasco, 42, has been charged with unlawful use of a weapon, and has been released from custody, but has not been charged with murder in the death of his pregnant girlfriend, 35-year-old Edith Castrejon.
Under the terms of his release, Pasco must report to his probation officer and attend all future court hearings in his case. He also must surrender his FOID card and all guns he owns to Chicago police.
Pasco was due to appear for a status hearing in his case on Thursday at the Skokie courthouse, but asked to have his case continued, and will now be back in court in February.
According to court documents, Pasco was sleeping with a gun under his pillow on Jan 16 at his home in Portage Park, when Castrejon reached over and grabbed it, causing him to wake up and fire the gun.
Castrejon was shot in the chest, and was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
Prosecutors have said Castrejon's three children were sleeping in the same room at the time of the shooting.
Police sources later confirmed that Castrejon was five months pregnant at the time, and that doctors were able to deliver her baby, who was given only a 25% chance of survival.
According to a police report, the weapon was a 9mm "ghost gun," meaning it was a homemade firearm that can be built from a kit or made from a 3D printer. Prosecutors said Pasco told police he put the gun in a closet before officers arrived at the home.
Prosecutors said Pasco is a convicted felon with multiple prior convictions on weapons charges.