Trial begins in grisly 2022 San Carlos beheading case
SAN CARLOS - A heated argument on social media led up to a woman's grisly beheading in San Carlos last year, both the prosecutor and defense attorney in the case agreed as they gave opening statements Tuesday morning.
Jose Solano Landaeta, who pleaded not guilty, is charged with the murder of Karina Castro with a sword on Sept. 8, 2022.
The defense is portraying the killing as self-defense by a man with mental health issues.
"This is not a who done it case. This is a why," Solano's attorney Robert Cummings said.
Solano, who refused to attend the start of the trial, was not taking his medication, Risperdal, which was used to treat his chronic paranoid schizophrenia, according to Cummings.
Deputy District Attorney Josh Keckley-Stauffer sought to portray the killing as an act of "vengeance," highlighting several exchanges on Instagram and Snapchat that presented a volatile relationship between Solano and the victim.
In the exchanges, Castro threatened to reveal information such as alleged sexual encounters that Solano had with an underage girl, while Solano sent threatening messages of his own on Instagram, including a ninja emoji followed by blood emojis.
He also threatened to take their kids away, messaging Castro, "Izzy will have my last name. You will have no right to my kid."
About three hours prior to the killing, Solano texted a friend, "She lookin ta get smoked blood."
Solano's defense argues that the victim had knives on her and attempted to stab Solano, although the alleged knives have not been recovered.
Castro is also alleged by Cummings to have threatened Solano's family with violence, messaging him that she had put a hit out on his mother, who lived in the same apartment building as her.
Eyewitness testimony was also heard Tuesday morning, as Renata Tabellion, who was walking with friends on Laurel Street, where the killing occurred, tearfully stated, "The one thing I remember is she asked, 'are you going to hit me?'"
"I thought we were next," Tabellion added, shaking.
She testified that she witnessed Solano and Castro having an intense argument outside of Castro's apartment just before he went into his car and pulled out what was later identified as the sword used to kill Castro.
San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Lisa Novak is overseeing the case.