UC Davis Student Charged In Deadly Stabbing Spree Is Mentally Unfit For Trial

DAVIS, CA — A former University of California, Davis student accused of stabbing two people to death and injuring a third has been found incompetent to stand trial, according to reports.

Jurors in the competency trial of Carlos Dominguez were dismissed Monday after prosecutors disclosed they would no longer resist the defense’s assertion that Dominguez was mentally unfit for trial, The Associated Press reported.

Three medical experts testified Dominguez has schizophrenia and the judge ordered Dominguez be medicated against his will on the grounds that he is dangerous without it, according to the outlet. Dominguez, who the Davis Enterprise has reported is formerly from Oakland, will be sent to a state hospital and his criminal trial will resume when competency is restored, the wire service reported.

Until then, he remains in isolated medical custody at the Yolo County Jail, according to The Sacramento Bee.

Dominguez previously said he was guilty, wanted to apologize and did not want a lawyer, according to The Associated Press, which reported his attorney said Dominguez refused to eat, shower or speak in jail and remained convinced he was still a UC Davis student.

Restoring competency may take months or years, the Bee reported, noting if it cannot be restored, Dominguez will be put in a Murphy’s Conservatorship and become a state ward.

Dominguez was taken into custody in early May after he was reported wandering in Sycamore Park and found with a large hunting knife, police said at the time. He was charged with two counts of homicide and one count of attempted murder, according to police.

His victims included 50-year-old David Breaux, 20-year-old UC Davis student Karim Abou Najm, and a woman who underwent surgery after being stabbed repeatedly, police said. All the attacks occurred in parks or outdoor spaces, according to police.

A third-year student at UC Davis, Dominguez was separated from the university April 25 for academic reasons, according to the school.

His girlfriend and roommates testified that in the time leading up to the killings, his grooming deteriorated and he started hearing voices and exhibiting behavior so distressing his roommates made a plan to confront him about his mental state, the Bee reported.