Apr 6, 2008 8:34 pm US/Eastern
Service Held For 3 Children Killed By Father
VIENNA, Va. (WJZ) ―
It's a final farewell after the horrific murders of three young children left friends, family and schoolmates devastated.
Peggy Lee reports Saturday evening hundreds gathered at McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Va. for a memorial service for Anthony, Austin, and Athena Castillo who police say were drowned inside a Baltimore hotel at the hands of their own father.
For those who attended the memorial service for the children Saturday night, it was to draw strength from their faith to make sense of the horrible tragedy.
With hymns of worship, hundreds of mourners filled McLean Bible Church to say goodbye to three little angels gone forever.
"Jesus loves children, and now Anthony, Austin, and Athena are in his arms, but they are not with us," said Reverend Ezekiel Wharton from the Forcey Christian Middle School.
Police say six-year-old Anthony, four-year-old Austin and two-year-old Athena were drowned by their father Mark Castillo in the bathroom of a 10th floor room at Baltimore's Inner Harbor Marriott Hotel last Sunday afternoon.
Afterward, Castillo unsuccessfully tried to take his own life.
At the service, a poem written by the children's older half sister was read.
"Anthony so sweet, always worried about someone. Athena so petite, just like a china doll, Austin so funny with his squawky tone," read Cheryl Wharton.
Court documents show the children's mother Amy repeatedly tried to revoke Castillo's visitation with the children. She even filed for a protective order saying he threatened to kill the children, but she was denied.
"It just gives me great peace to know no one can harm them again and that they are with Jesus in heaven," said Amy.
Mark Castillo is being held at a hospital facility within the prison system.
He faces three counts of first-degree murder. The Castillo family asks that in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts be made to the children's school:
The Forcey Christian School
2130 E. Randolph Road
Silver Spring, Md. 20904
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