Oct 30, 2008 7:50 pm US/Eastern
Man Accused Of Drowning Kids Appears In Court
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
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Police say Mark Castillo confessed to killing his children in a Baltimore hotel room in March after a drawn-out custody dispute with his ex-wife.
CBS
Charged with killing his three children in a bathtub at a downtown Baltimore hotel, Mark Castillo was back in court.
Weijia Jiang reports the judge said the hearing was meant to be simple, just to confirm a decision that was made months ago. But Mark Castillo and his lawyers had no idea why they were even in court, which led to a heated discussion on whether to strike the hearing altogether.
Castillo, 41, walked into the courtroom shaking and crying. He told the judge he missed his medication for anxiety Thursday morning.
During his arraignment in May, Castillo said he was not criminally responsible for the slayings, essentially the insanity plea. Records show he has a history of mental problems.
But on Oct. 7, a judge ruled Castillo was competent to go to trial even though he was diagnosed with depression and taking Prozac.
The judge said in her last interview with him that Castillo was able to talk about the pregnancy of all three kids, their hobbies and their life together without breaking down like he did in the past.
The judge only brought Castillo in Thursday to put on record the June 4 decision to withdraw his plea of not criminally responsible, but Castillo said at the hearing he was unable to give any confirmation.
Now he and his lawyers have until Jan. 13, the trial date, to decide.
In March, police arrived to the Inner Harbor Marriott to find a gruesome scene.
The Castillo children, Anthony, 6, Austin, 4, and Athena, 2, were all naked in the bed after being drowned in a hotel bathtub one by one.
Charging documents show Castillo confessed to the murders to police. He told police that he tried to kill himself by stabbing his throat with a steak knife and swallowing 100 Motrin pills.
Eyewitness News also obtained audio tapes of conversations between Castillo and his wife, Amy. She claims he previously threatened to kill the children and not her so that she'd have to live without them.
In the past two years, Amy filed several protective orders, all of which were rejected.
Prosecutors say they plan to seek life in prison for Castillo, which also leaves the door open for the death penalty.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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