A man who was having trouble with the fact that the custody of his three children was given to their mother has committed a crime that shocked the community. He drowned the children in a Baltimore hotel bathtub, police reported on Monday morning.

After drowning his two sons and his little daughter, Mark Anthony Castillo, a 41-year-old resident of Rockville, Md., called the front desk of the hotel at about 1:15 p.m. Sunday and acknowledged the crime.

The three children who were drowned in the Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards were identified by police as Anthony, 6, Austin, 4, and Athena, 2.

"We believe that the children were drowned one at a time in the tub," Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III said during a press conference.

Police said Castillo had neck wounds, probably self indicted. He is currently at a local hospital under treatment and police watch. He will be charged after he gets out of the hospital.

The man is suffering from bipolar disorder according to court records, but had no prior criminal record. He was supposed to take the children back to their mother in Silver Spring by the end of Saturday. Amy A. Castillo, the mother of the children called Montgomery County police at 8:30 p.m. Saturday to report the fact that her children weren’t returned in accordance with the custody agreement.

"There is indication that there had been prior disputes with his wife concerning their marriage and custody of the children," Bealefeld told reporters.

Investigators believe the children were drowned in a 10th-floor room at some point on Saturday night.

"We will be asking ourselves, 'Why? Why?' " Baltimore Mayor Shelia Dixon said during the news conference.

Castillo also said he would kill himself when calling the hotel’s front desk. He refused to discus the crime in detail, but police said they managed to seize a laptop belonging to the man and are currently searching a van in Baltimore and Castillo's home.

"This is just a horrible tragedy. It is the worst thing I've ever heard of," said Joe Vanderwalde, Amy Castillo's supervisor in the Kaiser Permanente system. He added that Ms. Castillo had tried to keep the children away from their mentally troubled father, but he fought for the custody.

Court records show that in 2006, Ms. Castillo was granted temporary sole custody, but her ex-husband was granted visitation rights. Her motions to suspend the visitation rights were denied. According to court records, Ms. Castillo had to pay a fine for refusing the visitation rights.