REDWOOD City, Calif. (CN) — A man convicted of first degree murder for beheading his ex-partner on a sidewalk in a San Francisco suburb will serve at least 25 years in prison.
San Mateo Superior Court Judge Lisa Novak said Tuesday the trial of 33-year-old Jose Rafael Solano Landaeta was the most difficult in her career. Last November, a jury convicted Landaeta after a two-week trial, finding that he killed 27-year-old Karina Castro of San Carlos, the mother of his one-year-old child.
Prosecutors presented evidence that Landaeta viciously attacked Castro with multiple strikes from a sword, decapitating her in the street in front of her apartment complex on Sept. 8, 2022, in front of several witnesses. Evidence from online messages between the two showed Landaeta decided to kill his ex-partner the morning after an argument, and prosecutors played recordings of Landaeta telling family members, “I fucking killed the bitch.”
The jury found all four aggravating factors to be true, including Landaeta's possession of a samurai sword matching the description of the weapon used to kill Castro.
Karina Castro’s father, Martin Castro, said that he was disappointed Landaeta does not qualify for serving a life sentence without parole.
"I’m gonna walk out of here and I’m not gonna feel any better," he said. "I feel worse by the day — time is not healing any wounds."
Members of the Castro family addressed the court in tears, describing feelings of guilt when they learned about Landaeta’s treatment and murder of Karina Castro.
“There’s a hole in my heart, my soul and my life that will never be filled," said Laura Engman, who said Castro was "like her daughter. "What I take from this is, don’t ignore your gut feeling.”
For those close to Castro, a sentence that left any chance of Landaeta’s release was too lenient.
“He enforced the death penalty on Karina, so I don’t understand how he doesn’t qualify for life without parole," Engman said.
Mia Castro said she felt “emptiness, loneliness and devastation” at her sister’s loss.
“Karina was the glue that held our family together,” she said. “The thought of her being so helpless and afraid in her last moments … fills my every quiet moment. Where there should be peace, there is horror."
Deputy district attorney Josh Keckley-Stauffer told the court that law enforcement knew about Landaeta’s history of domestic violence reports, and that he previously had sex with an unconscious person who was 15 years old.
“There was the fear that Castro would release that information to the public,” he said. “The defendant’s behavior in court also demonstrated his manipulation. He still takes no responsibility for his actions. He has never demonstrated any remorse.”
He also spoke about out the lasting impact of the crime on family and bystanders: “The jury sat here and looked at some of the worst evidence I’m ever seen. She died a horrible death.”
Judge Novak denied Landaeta’s mother’s request to address the court.
The judge ordered Landaeta to face her and said, "It is an affront to those suffering from mental illness, to suggest that somehow your accountability should be limited because you suffer from mental illness.
"You are clever enough and manipulative enough to have utilized your mental illness in an effort to relieve yourself of the criminal liability in the case," the judge added. "It was not successful, it simply is not rooted in any fact at all. Untreated mental illness had nothing to do with your execution of Karina Castro.”
Novak said she could only impose a sentence of 25 years to life, with payment of restitution to Karina Castro’s family and no probation, based on the jury’s finding. She said it did not seem “sufficient” for the crime. Landaeta can appeal within 60 days.
Landaeta pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder in May 2023, after psychiatric evaluations concluded he was competent to stand trial. He has been held without bail since March.
He at first waived his right to be in the courtroom when the trial began before suddenly agreeing to testify Nov. 13, 2023, and faced subsequent admonishment by prosecutors and the judge for his behavior on the stand.
Landaeta’s attorney Robert Cummings questioned eyewitnesses’ judgment and maintained that Landaeta suffers from schizophrenia-induced paranoia and has a “sick mind.”
Keckley-Stauffer, the deputy district attorney, accused Landaeta of faking his mental illness. During closing arguments he cited experts and doctors who studied the defendant and described him as an angry man who displayed the intent to murder his ex.
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