May 19, 2008 6:35 pm US/Eastern
Dad Pleads Not Criminally Responsible In Deaths
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
-
-
Police say Mark Castillo killed his three children at a Baltimore hotel.
Athena, Austin and Anthony Castillo all drowned one-by-one in a bath tub at the Inner Harbor Marriott last March.
Mike Hellgren reports police say their father Mark Castillo committed the crime. Police say Castillo then tried to kill himself by stabbing his neck with a steak knife and swallowing 100 Motrin pills.
Castillo pleaded not criminally responsible for those murders, essentially the insanity defense.
"Over the next several months, there will be a court-ordered evaluation that will be administered by court medical," said Margaret Burns, State's Attorney's Office spokeswoman.
For months, Castillo's estranged wife Dr. Amy Castillo, a pediatrician, pleaded with judges to take away his visitation rights. She was denied every time.
"The difficult part is that I don't understand it right now, and at this time, I'm just so afraid to go through this pain that I know I must go through," said Amy Castillo.
Audio recordings obtained by
Eyewitness News revealed the father's past threats to her.
"To kill the children and not me, so I would have to live without them," said Amy Castillo.
"We will be asking ourselves why, why could someone do this to three young, innocent children," said Mayor Sheila Dixon.
Court records reveal Castillo tried to kill himself twice before. At one point, he drank poison, taped his mouth shut and stabbed himself with a knife.
Castillo's neighbor paints him as a good person.
"Mr. Mark was an excellent person, an excellent father," said landlord Maria Galvis.
Police say Castillo murdered the children just hours before he was supposed to return them to Amy.
In court, he was seen shaking and crying as his lawyer entered the not guilty plea.
The state's attorney must now decide whether to seek the death penalty.
"That's still under review, and the state's attorney has not made a decision," said Burns.
The state's attorney will likely meet with Amy Castillo about that decision. She is now struggling to recover from the pain of losing her three beautiful children.
"I won't ever see them grow past two, four and six, and all the things we had planned together just won't happen," said Amy Castillo.
Mark Castillo is being held without bail. The trail is scheduled for August in Baltimore.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Great NFL Hair
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
