YOLO COUNTY, Calif. — Prosecutors announced Monday they will not seek the death penalty in the case of Carlos Dominguez, the man accused of stabbing three people and killing two of them in spring 2023 in Davis.
At 1:30 p.m., the matter proceeds to a preliminary hearing in Yolo County Superior Court and is estimated to take four days, according to the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom placed a moratorium on executions in 2019, and he announced plans to begin transferring inmates sentenced to death to other prisons in 2022, according to the Associated Press.
CASE HISTORY
The three stabbings began near the University of California, Davis roughly two days after Dominguez was expelled for academic reasons on April 25, ABC10 previously reported. He was a third-year student majoring in biological sciences.
- Stabbing and killing David Breaux, 50, who was found stabbed to death in Davis’ Central Park on April 27, 2023. He was known throughout the community as “Compassion Guy.”
- Stabbing and killing UC Davis student Karim Abou Najm, 20, in Davis’ Sycamore Park on April 29, 2023.
- Stabbing Kimberlee Guillory at a homeless encampment near 2nd and L streets on May 1, 2023. She survived.
The attacks terrified the community, according to the Associated Press. Businesses closed early and some students were too scared to attend even daytime classes as their parents pleaded with them to return home.
On May 4, 2023, the Davis Police Department announced the arrest of Dominguez, ABC10 previously reported. He faces charges including murder and attempted murder.
Dominguez was deemed unfit for trial in August 2023 and was taken to a state hospital for "restoration of competency." He was deemed mentally competent to stand trial late December 2023.
