Attorney: Defendant in brutal San Carlos beheading case enters insanity plea
REDWOOD CITY -- The man accused in the brutal beheading of a young mother in San Carlos with a samurai sword last year appeared in court Thursday and entered a not guilty by reason of insanity plea, according to his attorney.
Jose Rafael Solano Landaeta has been charged with murdering 27-year-old Karina Castro. According to court records, he also faces multiple enhancements, including using a deadly weapon, great bodily injury and prior felony conviction.
Prosecutors said Solano Landaeta beheaded Castro with a samurai sword outside her apartment complex near Magnolia Avenue and Laurel Street on September 8, 2022.
The suspect was once romantically involved with the victim and is the father of her youngest child. Castro had a restraining order against him.
Solano Landaeta's lawyer Robert Cummings told reporters outside the courtroom that his client was set to see a doctor who is currently going through evidence that shows, according to Cummings, that the defendant has showed signs of being paranoid schizophrenic since age seven.
"Out of an abundance of caution, we have plead him not guilty on the facts as well as not guilty by reason of insanity. That may change as we get psychiatrists reports back," explained Cummings.
Last February, Solano Landaeta was found competent to stand trial after a January 26 report from the court-appointed doctor found the suspect was competent.
Cummings noted that Solano Landaeta was assigned two doctors, a psychologist and a psychiatrist, on Thursday after the insanity plea. He also said that they had objected to the psychologist who had done the earlier evaluation due to the defendant not being comfortable with the doctor who evaluated him and that Solano Landaeta remained completely mute for two and a half months after the homicide. Cummings said that his client has become more communicative with changes to his diet.
The victim's family has claimed that the defendant is putting on an act in order to not face the consequences for the horrible crime he is accused of committing.
When asked what he felt about the pleas entered, the victim's father Martin Castro said, "Not surprising, but still very upsetting. I don't understand it. I don't understand the whole thing. To me, it's very clear cut and cut and dry."
Castro went on to say he thought Solano Landaeta was simply trying to further delay the trial process.
"He's just dragging this out as much as he can. This insanity thing, there's just no way. There's too much proof out there for everybody to see that he's not insane. He wasn't insane when he did this. He knew exactly what he was doing," Castro said. "When he walked out just now, he had this really smug look on his face, looked at his dad, smiled. He knew what he was doing. He knows what's going on."
Solano Landaeta is scheduled to return to court on May 27, according to the victim's father.