Prosecutors won't seek death penalty against accused Davis killer Carlos Dominguez
WOODLAND – The preliminary hearing began this week for the former UC Davis student accused of going on a deadly stabbing spree last April.
Carlos Dominguez is accused of killing two people, 50-year-old David Breaux and 20-year-old UC Davis student Karim Abou Najm, and injuring a third person, Kimberlee Guillory.
Monday, prosecutors began laying out evidence for the judge to decide if there is enough for Dominguez to stand trial.
Dominguez stared straight ahead as investigator after investigator took the courtroom back to last spring to the night when neighbors tried to save Abou Najm after an attack. The words, called out by, Abou Najm – "Somebody help me. Oh my god, help me" – were likely his last.
Insights were also released into the seven-hour interrogation where Dominguez kept a blank stare the whole time, according to an investigator in the room. He had scars on one hand and a fresh cut on the other.
"He said it was...the knife was a part of him," the investigator said in court Monday.
Abou Najm's family told me they will speak when this is over. They were visibly emotional as both families were inside the courtroom.
In a statement from the district attorney's office on Monday, prosecutors said they won't be seeking the death penalty.
Back in late December 2023, the Yolo County District Attorney's Office announced that Dominguez had been restored to competency, allowing the trial to continue.
Proceedings had been put on hold in June after a doctor determined Dominguez wasn't competent to stand trial, revealing that the accused killer had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Dominguez is being held at the Yolo County Jail and is ineligible for bail.
Breaux would have celebrated his 51st birthday on Monday. A table offering free Boston cream pie has been set up at the Compassion Corner in downtown Davis where Breaux would often be seen.
"Whenever I think of Boston cream pie, I think of David," David's sister Maria Breaux said.
Maria Breaux said she focused on joy on what would've been her brother's birthday.
"Today was a day of joy, giving, and compassion, and David wouldn't have wanted it any other way," she said.
The hearing is expected to last three days.