3 Children Found Slain in Baltimore Hotel Room

Vanderwalde, pediatrics service chief for the Mid-Atlantic Kaiser Permanente Medical Group, said the children's mother had "tried so hard to do what she could for her children."

She tried to "keep them away" from Mark Castillo, Vanderwalde said. But he said the father fought for custody.

In 2006, according to court records, Amy Castillo was granted temporary sole custody on an emergency motion, but Mark Castillo was granted visitation rights shortly afterward. At least twice last year, motions that would have withheld visitation rights were denied. At one point, according to the records, Amy Castillo was fined for refusing visitation rights.

Another time, according to the records, a court ordered a mental health examination for him.

The couple had apparently moved to Waterford Road at least four years ago, a neighbor said, and they seemed happy at first.

Maria Habesch, one neighbor, said she had attended parties at their home. She said Castillo spoke warmly of his wife and told of the couple's plans to expand their family, which then included two children.

"The last two years, I haven't seen him around," Habesch said.

Habesch said she had seen police come to the home.

Keith Lamirande, another neighbor, said he had seen the police called "at least a half-dozen times," including once within the past week.

No current address for the father was available. An effort to reach a lawyer who represented him in the divorce proceedings was unsuccessful.

The children's mother worked for several years as a pediatrician at the Kaiser Permanente facility on Connecticut Avenue in Kensington. Recently, she shifted her practice to a Kaiser facility in Largo, Vanderwalde said.

"She has been a valued member of our department, and the whole department is mourning her tragedy," he said. "We will try to support her for whatever she needs."

He said he understood that the physician and Mark Castillo had not lived together for several years.

Montgomery police are assisting in the investigation.

Staff researcher Rena Kirsch contributed to this report.