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A Rockville man accused of drowning his three children in a Baltimore hotel bathtub was deemed fit to stand trial Tuesday on three counts of first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death.

A trial date will now be set.

Mark Anthony Castillo, 42, is accused of drowning his children, Anthony, 6, Austin, 4, and Athena, 2, in a Marriott Inner Harbor Hotel bathtub in Baltimore on March 29, hours before he was scheduled to return them to their mother, Amy Castillo, of Silver Spring. Castillo then attempted to kill himself by taking more than 100 Motrin pills and stabbing himself, according to charging documents.

Castillo was given a mental health evaluation last month at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center, a maximum-security facility run in connection with the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. After an examination of University of Maryland forensic psychologist Annette Hanson, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Gale E. Rasin ruled Castillo competent to stand trial.

The competency hearing was held in Baltimore City Circuit Court.

In a previous hearing, Castillo said he wanted to dismiss his counsel and represent himself, which prompted the evaluation. Castillo said Tuesday he wants more time to think about whether or not to represent himself. He said if he chooses to dismiss his counsel, public defenders Natasha Moody and Joan Fraser, he would not seek other representation.

"It's not these lawyers," said Castillo, who was wearing an untucked green button-down shirt, black pants and was not handcuffed during the hearing.

Rasin suggested Castillo make a decision on whether or not to represent himself soon because his current lawyers would have to prepare for a trial if need be.

"As long as you have lawyers, they have to act in a competent manner, they can't just sit back," she said.

During her examination from Rasin and Moody, Hanson said she also deemed Castillo competent enough to represent himself if a guilty plea were entered.

"He has an excellent working knowledge of the criminal justice process," Hanson said.

However, if the case were to go to an extended trial, Hanson said Castillo would require counsel due to the "more adversarial" nature of a trial, which requires more intensive knowledge of the legal process and more focused attention over an extended period of time. She said this would be difficult for Castillo because he is suffering from clinical depression.

Castillo pleaded not guilty and not criminally responsible May 19, but withdrew that plea June 20. In a hearing in August he said, "I've been trying to plead guilty for five months and I've been prevented."

Hanson said over the course of her mental evaluation of Castillo, which included three interviews, he exhibited improvements in his mental health and demeanor. She said by the third interview he could successfully discuss his deceased children without breaking down and had become more active at Perkins Hospital, even organizing table tennis tournaments among other patients.

Hanson credited the improvements to a lower dosage of Prozac, which Castillo is presently taking. He had experienced side effects when higher dosages had been prescribed.

She said she had consulted prior evaluations of Castillo, including an evaluation by psychologist C. David Missar in 2006, which determined "the acute risk of harm Mr. Castillo poses to his children is low, provided he continues with his psychotherapeutic treatment."

Amy Castillo was not present in court Tuesday.