Former UC Davis student turned suspected serial killer: What changed Carlos Dominguez?
DAVIS -- A former UC Davis student is now a suspected serial killer. Carlos Dominguez, 21, was arraigned on two murder charges in court on Friday, both with special circumstances that would make the case eligible for life without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, plus an attempted murder charge.
Dominguez had just failed out of UC Davis two days before the deadly stabbing spree. People CBS13 spoke with who knew Dominguez back in high school said they would have never imagined Dominguez being capable of something so violent.
"Out of all the people I coached I would have never thought he would do something like that," said Dominguez's former high school football coach James Barnes. "He was not that aggressive of a football player and never had any anger issues or discipline issues on the field."
Dominguez is now a suspected serial killer accused of killing 50-year-old David Breaux and 20-year-old UC Davis student Karim Abou Najm. He is also accused of the attempted murder of 64-year-old Kimberlee Guillory.
In high school, Dominguez was pictured and profiled in an Oakland Unified School District "Mentoring in Medicine and Science" program. He said he aspired to be a doctor.
"His academic experience is probably no joke," said serial killer expert Dr. Robert Schug. "It was probably very hard to get in."
Dominguez had transferred from Laney College in Oakland to UC Davis in 2020. The biological sciences major had failed out of UC Davis just two days before the first deadly attack.
"If he is pre-med there is probably a lot of expectations, probably a lot of stress and anxiety," said Dr. Schug.
When police found Dominguez, he was in the same outfit witnesses said he was wearing during the violent attacks. Why?
"He is not paying attention to personal hygiene, he is not taking care of himself," said Dr. Schug. "This might be signs of mental health problems or substance use."
Former high school classmates of Dominguez told CBS13 he was outgoing and always smiling. Now they said the face of the suspected serial killer is unrecognizable.
Police said that Dominguez had been living in Davis for several years now. CBS13 is still working to learn if his roommates knew anything about the brutal killings, and if they will also be charged.