Dominguez returns to Yolo court ahead of May retrial in deadly 2023 knife slayings

Carlos Reales Dominguez returns to a Yolo County courtroom Thursday ahead of his scheduled second murder trial in the 2023 Davis knife rampage that left 2 men dead and a woman seriously injured.

The former UC Davis student’s first trial ended in mistrial after Yolo County jurors deadlocked last June setting the stage for a May retrial before Yolo Superior Court Judge Samuel T. McAdam. Dominguez has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the killings of David Breaux, 50, and Karim Abou Najm, 20, in Davis’ Central and Sycamore parks in late April 2023.

As in the first trial, Dominguez faces first-degree and second-degree murder charges in Breaux’s killing, and a second-degree murder charge in the slaying of Najm, a graduating UC Davis student.

Yolo County District Attorney’s Office earlier decided not to pursue the death penalty against Dominguez.

A third attack days later in May 2023 left Kimberlee Guillory, then 64, seriously injured. The park killings and the attack on Guillory shook the Davis community before a disheveled Dominguez was taken into custody.

Guillory survived and later testified against Dominguez. He faces an attempted murder charge in the attack.

Prosecutors focused in the first trial on Dominguez’s mental state at the time of the attacks, with doctors testifying to his diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Proceedings ahead of the retrial were delayed for months while Dominguez was treated at a state hospital. He remains held without bail in Yolo County custody.

Friends and family members testified about his declining mental health in the months leading up to the attacks. Dominguez also took the stand, telling jurors he saw hallucinated “shadow figures” before the attacks on Breaux, Najm and Guillory.

Yolo County prosecutors now plan to argue that Dominguez used cannabis so heavily and frequently that it contributed to his mental condition at the time of the violent spree.

Prosecutors, introducing the argument in court last November, said it does not conflict with Dominguez’s schizophrenia diagnosis. They also said they plan to call experts to testify about marijuana’s effects on young people’s mental health.

Jury selection for the estimated 10- to 12-week trial in Woodland is scheduled to begin May 18.

This story was originally published March 25, 2026 at 2:59 PM.

Darrell Smith

The Sacramento Bee

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Darrell Smith is a local reporter for The Sacramento Bee. He joined The Bee in 2006 and previously worked at newspapers in Palm Springs, Colorado Springs and Marysville. Smith was born and raised at Beale Air Force Base and lives in Elk Grove.