Through tears, the Rockville father charged with drowning his three children in a Baltimore hotel bathtub pleaded “not criminally responsible” Monday, Maryland’s version of the insanity defense.
Mark Castillo, 41, appeared in Baltimore City Circuit Court wearing a white polo shirt and jeans. His beard had grown long during his time under psychiatric monitoring at the city’s jail, where he’s been held since March 31.
That day, police say he confessed to killing his sons, Anthony, 6, and Austin, 4, and daughter, Athena, 2, at Baltimore’s Marriott Inner Harbor Hotel.
Castillo cried as he listened to Judge W. Michel Pierson read off the crimes he stands accused of committing.
Castillo’s estranged wife, Amy, of Silver Spring, said in a statement that she wants to make sure he’s kept off the streets.
“What is important to me now is that Mark will no longer be able to hurt anyone else, and that my current or any future family will not have to live in fear,” she said.
Mark Castillo will now be evaluated by psychiatrists in the court system, who will tell prosecutors whether they believe he is indeed insane.
Baltimore City States Attorney Patricia Jessamy is going to meet with family members, before deciding whether to seek the death penalty.
Amy Castillo has said publicly she’s in favor of prosecutors seeking life without the possibility of parole.
“I’m not morally opposed to the death penalty,” she said on “Larry King Live,” while acknowledging the practical difficulties of drawn-out death penalty appeals. “Life without parole is probably more practical. But I hear Mark, at least the day after, said he wants the death penalty.”
She has spoken several times about her frustrations with the court system, which she said failed to keep her suicidal husband away from her three children.
Castillo told Baltimore police he killed his children March 30 because of a “recent divorce stemming from domestic issues with his wife,” according to Detective Robert Ross’ report.
Castillo took 100 Motrin pills and tried to slit his own throat after drowning his children, telling paramedics: “I know what I did was bad. I did it. I drown[ed] the kids last night,” charging documents state.
Despite missing her children “more than anyone will ever know,” Amy Castillo said she’s not ready to give up on life.
“I plan on living my life as well as I can, for as long as it will be, until I am reunited with my children again,” she said.
Mark Castillo’s trial on three counts of first-degree murder is scheduled for Aug. 22.
