Trial for former UC Davis student accused of 2 fatal stabbings to begin Monday

The jury trial for Carlos Dominguez, the former UC Davis student accused of killing two people and injuring a third in a string of stabbings in Davis earlier this year, is set to begin Monday.

Dominguez appeared in Yolo Superior Court briefly on Wednesday for the trial readiness conference alongside court-appointed public defender Dan Hutchinson and prosecuting attorney Matthew De Moura.

In May, Dominguez pleaded not guilty to two counts of premeditated murder and one count of attempted murder. Criminal proceedings were paused shortly after when Hutchinson questioned Dominguez’s mental competency and requested the court order a psychiatric assessment.

A doctor found Dominguez not competent to stand trial last month. However, De Moura disputed the doctor’s findings and requested a jury trial. At the trial, the burden will fall on the defense to prove the defendant’s mental incompetency. If the jury agrees that he is not competent, Dominguez would undergo hospitalization until his competency is restored. If not, criminal proceedings would resume.

David Henry Breaux, 50, was found dead in Central Park on April 27 with multiple stab wounds. Two nights later, on April 29, 20-year-old UC Davis student Karim Abou Najm was stabbed to death in Sycamore Park.

On May 1, Kimberlee Guillory was stabbed through her tent at a homeless encampment on 2nd and L street just before midnight. Guillory survived the attack but was left with critical injuries.

Dominguez was taken into custody on May 3 when about 15 people called the department to report seeing a man who matched the suspect description at Sycamore Park, the location of the second homicide.

Just two days before the first murder on April 25, Dominguez was expelled for academic reasons from UC Davis, where he was a third year biological sciences student.

Dominguez is next scheduled to appear in court on July 24 for the jury trial at 9 a.m. in Department 10 of Yolo Superior Court.