‘He was getting more angry’

The mother of three young children who were drowned in a Baltimore hotel room said yesterday that her estranged husband became angrier in the weeks preceding the children’s deaths.

Still, Dr. Amy Castillo said she did not notice anything out of the ordinary Saturday when Mark Castillo took their children for a regularly scheduled visitation. It turned out to be the last time she would see her children — Anthony, 6, Austin, 4, and Athena, 2.

That particular Saturday I didn’t notice any unusual behavior but it was a very brief interaction, Dr. Castillo told reporters at a briefing at McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Va., where she and her children regularly attended worship services.

Mr. Castillo is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and other charges. Police say he drowned his children one by one in the bathtub, then called the front desk the next day to report the killings when he realized his attempt at suicide had not worked.

Dr. Castillo, a pediatrician from Silver Spring, said Mr. Castillo was increasingly troubled in recent weeks. A judge had stopped alimony payments he had been receiving from her, and he was falling behind on financial obligations.

All around he was in trouble, she said. I think he was getting more and more angry.

Asked about court rulings in which a judge agreed to allow Mr. Castillo visitation despite documented mental health problems and even after she told the judge he had made reference to killing the children, Dr. Castillo said that there were some people who would not listen to me.

She said she did not want to talk about the legal issues too much, but said the legal system needs a better understanding of mental-health issues.

Dr. Castillo was soft-spoken and composed throughout the briefing. She said she is devastated but it gives me peace that no one can harm them again and that they are with Jesus in heaven.

She talked about her children — Anthony was sweet and good-natured; Austin was a bit of a trouble maker and Athena was just learning to talk.

I couldn’t wait to have a girl. … I feel like I barely got to know her, she said.