A 21-year-old former UC Davis student has been arrested and charged following a stabbing spree that terrorized the Northern California college town over the last week.
Carlos Dominguez, 21, was a student at the university until last week, Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel said at a press conference Thursday afternoon. Pytel said Dominguez has been charged with two counts of homicide and one count of attempted murder.
Dominguez was in his third year at UC Davis, the college said in a statement. On April 25 he was “separated for academic reasons,” according to the release.
The UC Davis student directory lists Dominguez as a sophomore studying biological sciences. He graduated from Castlemont High School in Oakland, California, according to a biography published by Oakland Story Bank, where he played varsity football.
“I want to be a doctor. I got into healthcare to help my grandmother—she has type 2 diabetes. It makes me happy and it makes her happy, and I just love seeing her smile,” he said while interning at the nonprofit Mentoring in Medicine (MIMS),“Maybe people think it’s boring or it’s scary if you’re a surgeon and you see all that blood, but saving someone’s life makes you feel good about yourself.”
Police currently have no information to suggest Dominguez knew the victims, Pytel said.
The spree of gruesome knife attacks began on April 27, when David Breaux, a beloved local figure known as the “Compassion Guy,” was found stabbed to death in Central Park. Breaux, a Stanford graduate who lived on the streets of Davis, had published a book of anonymous collected writings by community members on the subject of compassion.
“[Breaux] chose Davis as his home to be around people; he touched many lives in our community dedicating his time and energy towards selflessness,” a statement released by the Davis City Council, city manager and police chief said the day after Breaux’s murder.
There were no witnesses to Breaux’s murder, Pytel said Thursday, leaving the police scrambling for leads.
Two nights later, the killer struck again. Karim Abou Najm, a 20-year-old UC Davis senior, was stabbed and killed at Sycamore Park while on his way home from an undergraduate awards ceremony. Najam, who was studying computer science, was only six weeks away from graduation.
“[Najam] was violently attacked and stabbed many times,” Pytel said. A witness saw the last part of the attack, the police chief said, and “had a short interaction” with the suspect.
“We started a search but were unable to locate the suspect,” Pytel said.
The final attack came two days later on May 1. Kimberlee Guillory was staying at a homeless encampment when her tent was slashed. The assailant reached through and started stabbing her, Pytel said. The woman was able to call 911 and survived the attack with serious injuries.
At that point, Pytel said, police believed it was “probable” that the stabbings were linked, but still had to maintain the possibility that there were “several attackers.”
Police then released a description of the suspect, who they described as a man with a light complexion, curly hair, and thin build, wearing a black or blue sweatshirt, black pants and carrying a brown backpack.
On Wednesday, police received calls from more than a dozen members of the public, who had spotted a man fitting that description hanging around Sycamore Park, the site of the second attack, Pytel said.
It was Carlos Dominguez. A member of the public followed Dominguez while on the phone to the police, Pytel said, and he was stopped by patrol officers who took him into custody. In his backpack, they found a large hunting knife consistent with the murder weapon, Pytel said.
Detectives questioned Dominguez all night, Pytel said. The victims in the stabbings had put up a fight, and Dominguez was found to have injuries on his hands and wrists, Pytel said.
The police chief praised the work of the Davis Police Department who he said had left “no stone unturned” in their investigation.
“These horrific crimes have resulted in immeasurable loss,” Mayor Will Arnold said following the arrest. “Davis has compassion, a deep sense of community when faced with tragedy. We are a resilient community.”
“We will never forget David and Karim. And we will continue to hope and pray Kim makes a full recovery,” Arnold continued, “A murderer is off the streets and our families will sleep easier tonight.”
Dominguez was being held in Yolo County jail on Thursday.
