Update 4:32 p.m. Wednesday, July 22
A Yolo County judge has declared former UC Davis student Carlos Reales Dominguez legally insane.
The Wednesday ruling came one day after a jury found Dominguez guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the April 2023 stabbing deaths of 50-year-old David Breaux and 20-year-old Karim Abou Najm.
He was found not guilty of second-degree murder in Breaux and Abou Najm’s deaths. Jurors also found Dominguez not guilty of attempted murder in the May 2023 stabbing of 64-year-old Kimberlee Guillory.
Yolo County District Attorney Melinda Aiello said in a statement prosecutors and the defense decided to waive a second jury trial and allow the court to determine Dominguez’s sanity. Her office will prepare a recommendation for Dominguez to be placed in a state hospital for treatment.
Sentencing is scheduled to take place Aug.19 in Yolo County Superior Court.
Aiello said Tuesday’s verdict may not have been “the outcome we hoped for,” but said prosecutors “respect the role of the jury in our justice system and thank each juror for the significant sacrifice they made in serving our community.”
“The pain suffered by the victims' families and by the Davis community cannot be measured by any verdict,” Aiello wrote.
”We hope that, with these proceedings now concluded, the families of David Breaux and Karim Abou Najm, and survivor Kimberlee Guillory, can continue their journey toward healing, carrying with them the memories of the loved ones whose lives forever changed this community.”
Originally published 6:17 p.m. Tuesday, July 21
A Yolo County jury has found former UC Davis student Carlos Reales Dominguez guilty of involuntary manslaughter in connection with a deadly 2023 stabbing spree in Davis that killed two men and injured one woman.
Jurors handed down the sentence on Tuesday. They also found Dominguez not guilty of second-degree murder in connection with the April 2023 killings of 50-year-old David Breaux and 20-year-old Karim Abou Najm.
He was also found not guilty of attempted murder in the May 2023 stabbing of 64-year-old Kimberlee Guillory. Dominguez had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
The Yolo County District Attorney’s Office told CapRadio the jury is scheduled to return at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, and proceedings regarding Dominguez’s sanity are scheduled to resume on Monday. The DA’s office declined further comment.
Case history
Dominguez’s case had a long journey moving through the court system.
He was arrested in May 2023, days after police said 15 people called in reports of a person matching Dominguez’s description in a local park. Davis police said he had a large knife in his backpack, and was wearing the same clothes described by witnesses who saw the stabbing of Guillory.
Dominguez was initially found incompetent to stand trial after being diagnosed with schizophrenia. The case was put on hold in August 2023 as he was sent to a state hospital to receive treatment.
Carlos Reales Dominguez appears at a restoration of competency hearing at Yolo Superior Court next to Dan Hutchinson, deputy public defender on Friday, January 5, 2024.Fred Gladdis/The Davis Enterprise/Pool
The trial was reinstated in 2024 after doctors declared that Dominguez’s competency was restored. However, a mistrial was declared in June 2025 after jurors found Dominguez not guilty of first-degree murder, and deadlocked on the remaining charges of second-degree murder and attempted murder.
Most of the jurors voted to acquit Dominguez of the latter charges. Prosecutors decided to retry the case, focusing on Dominguez’s use of cannabis and its alleged impact on his mental state.. Dominguez’s new trial began in May.
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