Apr 4, 2008 6:31 am US/Eastern
Mother Speaks After 3 Children Killed By Father
VIENNA, Va. (WJZ) ―
The mother who lost her three children after her estranged husband admitted to drowning them speaks for the first time of her unimaginable heartbreak.
Court papers show Mark Castillo suffered from mental illness. His ex-wife filed papers accusing him of threatening to kill all of their children. Over the weekend, that's just what happened.
In the top floor room of the Baltimore Marriott near Camden Yards, Mark killed all three of his children --Anthony, Austin and Athena-- by drowning them in the tub. Then he tried and failed to kill himself.
Suzanne Collins reports Dr. Amy Castillo, the children's mother, showed remarkable strength Thursday afternoon at her church in Vienna, Va. where she talked about what happened for the first time publicly.
She was accompanied by two friends who walked her to the podium and stood by her side.
"But to have lost all three of my children and all at the same time really has been devastating," said Dr. Castillo.
It would be easy for her to blame the court system for not curtailing visitation, but she stops just short.
"I do feel like there were situations and some people who would not listen to me, and it was very frustrating. I felt almost like something is going to happen, and then I can say I told you so. But unfortunately, I told you so doesn't give me much relief at this time," said Dr. Castillo.
When asked why she thinks her ex snapped, she said in February the court ordered her to stop paying his alimony, ordered him to get a job and start paying child support. The court also found his vehicle to be unsafe.
"All around he was in trouble, hadn't paid child support to his first daughter, so I think he was getting more and more angry about the situation," said Dr. Castillo.
Dr. Castillo is a pediatrician. She told
Eyewitness News of a story of her two boys talking on Easter about going to heaven.
One of them said that he knew that he was going to heaven when he died. The doctor says it is her faith which is sustaining her now in her darkest time.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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