Wife in seclusion; ex told cops he killed their childrenBy Prentiss Findlay (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Thursday, April 3, 2008
WJZ-TV Athena Castillo (from left), 2; Anthony Castillo, 6; and Austin Castillo, 4, were drowned in a Baltimore hotel bathtub Saturday night. Police say their father, Mark Anthony Castillo of Rockville, Md., admitted to the killings and was charged Monday with murder. 
Baltimore Police Department Mark Anthony Castillo is seen in this photo provided by the Baltimore police. Castillo has been charged with drowning his three children in a Baltimore hotel room over the weekend. He was a gymnast and former riverboat card dealer from California. She was a doctor from the District of Columbia. He became a stay-at-home dad. She supported the family on her doctor's salary. Their Charleston marriage was happy enough to lead to the births of three children in Maryland. But he became increasingly erratic and frightening. Dr. Amy Castillo sought a protective order in Montgomery County District Court on Dec. 25, 2006, and asked that her husband, Mark Anthony Castillo, receive psychiatric counseling because he threatened to kill the children. Circuit Judge Joseph Dugan granted a temporary protective order but rejected a permanent order on Jan. 10, 2007. In explaining his decision, Dugan wrote there was "no clear or convincing evidence that the alleged acts of abuse occurred." The parents divorced in February. Their battle over child visitation rights came to a horrific conclusion Saturday when police say Mark Castillo drowned the children in a Baltimore hotel bathtub. On Wednesday, Amy Castillo was in seclusion at her Silver Spring, Md., home while her ex-husband was jailed without bond on charges that he murdered their children. On Saturday, Amy Castillo will bury the kids, Anthony, 6; Austin, 4; and Athena, 2. Inquiries about Dugan's decision on Wednesday were referred to Maryland Judiciary Deputy Director Darrell Pressley. "Here in Maryland, judges are precluded from commenting on a pending case," Pressley said. He said the case was pending because of the criminal charges against Mark Castillo. Cheryl Wharton answered the phone at Amy Castillo's house Wednesday morning. "She is surrounded by friends and family and is coping as well as expected," Wharton said. "Amy asks for your continued prayers during this unspeakably difficult time." Amy Castillo was a member of East Cooper Baptist Church, where she played in the orchestra, led Bible study and worked with the singles ministry, said Senior Pastor Buster Brown. Brown said Mark Castillo was involved in gymnastics and personal athletic training. "Your first impression of him was that he was engaging and handsome. He made a very good impression. He was very gracious," Brown said. Dr. Amy Ashley Ward, 32, and Mark Anthony Castillo, 31, married on Feb. 7, 1998, in Charleston County, but not at the church. "I'm really not sure how they met. He started coming to our church before they moved," Brown said. Mark Castillo told psychologist C. David Missar of Washington that he met his future wife in Charleston while traveling the country performing in gymnastics shows. He grew up in California, served in the Air Force and worked as a mail carrier, flower shop owner and riverboat card dealer, according to court records. Amy Castillo was a popular pediatrics resident at the Medical University of South Carolina. She completed her residency program in 1994 and went to work at Franklin C. Fetter Family Health Center on Meeting Street treating the poor and disadvantaged. They lived at Runaway Bay Apartments in Mount Pleasant, where Mark Castillo was ticketed for creating a rush-hour disturbance by hawking a Furby doll in a cage in the median of Johnnie Dodds Boulevard on Dec. 23, 1998. He held a large white sign that said "Show Me The Money" on one side and "Furby" on the other side, according to a police report. In 2001, the Castillos bought a brick split-level house in Silver Spring, Md. Mark Castillo recently worked part time at a state-run sports center in Laurel, Md., where he taught gymnastics. Mark Castillo, 41, of Rockville, Md., has confessed to drowning the children on Saturday night when they were to go back with their mother. He was charged with first-degree murder and child abuse after his release from a hospital where he was treated for self-inflicted cuts to his neck, police said. In 2005, the latest available figures, 1,460 children died of abuse, and 90 percent of them were less than 7 years old, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The Washington Post contributed to this story. Reach Prentiss Findlay at 937-5711 or pfindlay@postandcourier.com. |
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Comments
This article has 19 comment(s)
Posted by Hey_U_Guys on April 3, 2008 at 7:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
When a family's tragedy is publicized daily, it makes it harder for them to grieve properly. My heart goes out to this family that lost three beautiful, innocent children.
Posted by disco on April 3, 2008 at 8:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Words can not convey the disgust I feel that these children were not protected. Mark threatened to kill them - isn't that enough? And as a mother, I truly feel for Amy. I can not imagine what she must be going through right now. I hope somehow she can get through this tragedy.
Posted by grannyofsix on April 3, 2008 at 8:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
My only comment is ....My prayers are with you and your family Amy Castillo. May God give you the strength to get through this.
Posted by charlene68 on April 3, 2008 at 8:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This family will be in my prayers. it is bad enough to lose one child but when you lose 3 at the same time that is just horrible I could not even imagine what she is going through right now and for the rest of her life. May god bless you and help you through your hard times. My condolences to you and your family. God Bless You.
Posted by Booniechic on April 3, 2008 at 9:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I mean no harm in this what so ever to mom but reality is if my estranged husband threatened to kill my children, there would be no more unsupervised visits...judge or no judge, court order or no court order.
Posted by truelifetimevisitor on April 3, 2008 at 9:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If anyone wants to help financially please visit this website www.LoveFund4Amy.com.
There are links to go to to donate $ to help her survive w/o losing the worldly things she has. Yes she was a Dr. but the only working spouse of 3 children with payments like the rest of us.
I am not an official spokesperson and I am doing this on my own but through a family member of mine, I know all this to be true.
Posted by RTC on April 3, 2008 at 10:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
So true, Coldbeer. The sad part is that a book will no doubt be written about this tragedy, revealing even more personal details, and maybe a made for tv movie.
It is disgusting that money can be made off of another human being's suffering.
Posted by JohnS on April 3, 2008 at 11:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Once you commit a crime you become a public figure. The media will print what sells.
Posted by madcity on April 3, 2008 at 12:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
At what point can a judge be charged criminally for making a decision that ends like this. The children's safety should have come first.
Posted by palmetto_girl on April 3, 2008 at 12:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Booniechic- I understand where you're coming from. Unfortunately, what reality really is would land you in jail or on the run forever. If a judge issues a court order for visitation you're trapped if you would like to retain the life you've built for yourself and your children. Defying a court order would mean that your ex can (and would) call the police and they'll give you the choice to turn the children over for the visit. Your other choice is to take your children and run- leave no forwarding address, tell no one where you will go, never call or contact your loved ones, find a way to make a living without ever using your Social Security number, change your name and the children's and learn to answer to the new names and move around often because you will be known nationally as a kidnapper. Your picture and your children's will posted, at the very least, at the entrances to WalMarts across the country so you'll have to learn to live with a habit of vigilantly looking over your shoulder and constant fear of being recognized. AND, you'll do it all on your own with no help because close friendships or any close relationships won't be possible.
Would you seriously do that right away? All over what comes down to just a threat? Or might you think that people who are overwrought and emotional sometimes make dramatic threats that they don't really intend to carry out? That your ex-spouse is erratic but that he IS their father and he would never REALLY follow through and actually hurt his own children? After all, he may want to hurt you but no matter how bad he is, he does love his children.
Posted by walleyedwoman1215 on April 3, 2008 at 1:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The mom is "in seclusion... and that reason is the sensationalistic media coverage."
"I make my living off the evening news. Just give me something-something I can use. People love it when you lose, gives us dirty laundry..." - Don Henley
Bulls**t, buddy. Members of the media are not child killers, corrupt politicians or parole violators on the lam. They are charged with finding out every nuance of a breaking story, because that is what readers clamor for.
And guess what, friend o' mine? Don Henley's wife, Sharon Summerall, has MS. He now uses the media to promote research and understanding of the disease.
And let me ask you this: If your grandchild or other loved one went missing, how long would it take you to call TV stations and print media? Ninety minutes? Two months?
The hypocrisy directed at the meda makes me sick. Talk about shooting the messenger.
BTW, the mother is in seclusion because her entire world is shattered. Not because a reporter called her home.
Posted by forget on April 3, 2008 at 2:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
palmetto girl - you sound like you live in a make believe world. ALOT of times when one ex-spouse makes threats about the children, they carry them out. They may love their children, but they are consumed with anger, maliciousness, etc. that they don't consider the whole picture. If your ex-spouse makes a threat to take the child/children and you'll never see them again, (whether they mean to take them or hurt them) you need to make precautions. When people are caught up in an emotional mess such as divorce and custody they don't think straight. That's when life changing things happen.
Posted by Girleygirl on April 3, 2008 at 2:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I got this from the US Department of Justice:
Note: Parents includes stepparents.
Of all children under age 5 murdered from 1976-2005 --
31% were killed by fathers
29% were killed by mothers
23% were killed by male acquaintances
7% were killed by other relatives
3% were killed by strangers
Of those children killed by someone other than their parent, 81% were killed by males.
Relationship, 1976-2005
Gender of
offender Parent Other family Friend/
Acquaintance Stranger Unknown
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Male 5,273 757 3,825 438 328
Female 4,947 416 728 24 101
Posted by ForPnC on April 3, 2008 at 3:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Amy - I cannot imagine the loss. My condolences.
Posted by newto843 on April 3, 2008 at 4:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Palmetto_girl is right. If she denies a court order she is interfering with visitation rights and could loose custody completely. She would at the least be in contempt of court the first time and would likely loose custody completely the second. Her hands were really tied here.
I don't know what was presented to the judge but with all the lies and hate that goes on in a family court it has got to be hard to see through the fog.
Posted by kerwin1959 on April 3, 2008 at 4:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thanks for your info, Walleyedwoman1215..."And let me ask you this: If your grandchild or other loved one went missing, how long would it take you to call TV stations and print media? Ninety minutes? Two months?"
My grandmother tragically died years ago. Before my parents could contact me, I saw it on the noon local news - her accident had occurred at 9:30 a.m. and my parents were contacted at 10:30 a.m. We lived 1 hour from my grandparents home and my parents got to the hospital at 11:25 a.m. They told all officials that there were family members who had not yet been contacted, yet the names, addresses, etc. were "mysteriously" leaked to 3 area networks. I think it all started with the police scanners.
The "media types" were on my grandparents front porch when my parents got to their home. My grandfather, who had dementia, couldn't comprehend the phone ringing, the doorbells, etc. He thought my grandmother was still at the grocery store, even though the SCHP said they had called and spoken to him.
When I arrived, every news person flocked to me -- but luckily the police arrived at the same time to keep them away. When they left, reporters came back. It was almost unbearable.
My heart hurts for Dr. Castillo. Who knows how she found out that her fears were now reality? The judge will have to answer to an investigation, and he will question his own judgment. Some are made callous by the system, but some are not.
God will give this mother the strength she needs, when she least expects it. I experienced a near-death with one of my children, and while my experience pales by comparison to hers, there is a strength that mothers find to get through tragedies with their children. I hope she will find this strength, as I believe God gives it to mothers. She will find a way to celebrate the lives of her children. It won't replace them, but having read about Dr. Castillo, I suspect 100s, if not 1000s of children will live better lives because of the work she will do. She will pay it forward, and she will be forever blessed by God.
Until then, our prayers for her will hopefully be felt.
Posted by walleyedwoman1215 on April 3, 2008 at 5:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
ColdBeer: I didn't read your post until I got back from delivering Meals on Wheels and cleaning the church kitchen, which means I also missed Oprah and Dr. Phil :-). I AM a devout Christian, and like most I fall short of modeling Christ's perfect love every day of my life. And the next day I wake up and try to do better.
Kerwin1959: I am shocked by what you describe. No one should have to endure that.
The point here is that a mother is suffering untold agony. Mea culpa for going off-topic.
Posted by newto843 on April 3, 2008 at 5:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
As a father who had to fight some gender bias to get proper time with my kids this guy pisses me off in more ways than one!
Posted by wonderdog on April 3, 2008 at 10:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
My attorney told me that family court will do NOTHING to protect a child until he/she ends up in the hospital (or worse).
I pray for Amy and her children.