REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (CN) — A Northern California jury found a man guilty of first-degree murder Monday in the brutal beheading of the mother of his child with a samurai sword.
The trial of Hayward resident Jose Rafael Solano Landaeta was handed off to a San Mateo County Superior Court jury Friday, after two weeks of proceedings in state court in Redwood City. Prosecutors said Landaeta, 33, acted in vengeance when he killed Karina Castro, 27, of San Carlos — the mother of his one-year-old child.
Prosecutors said Landaeta viciously attacked Castro with multiple strikes from a sharp weapon, 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 returned the guilty verdict after just hours spent deliberating Monday. On Tuesday, the jury found all four aggravating factors, including Landaeta's possession of a sword, were true.
Members and friends of Castro’s family have attended most of the court proceedings since his arraignment a year ago, and every day of the trial. Her father Martin Castro said that his daughter's two young children are now living with family members.
Landaeta pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder this past May, after psychiatric evaluations concluded he was competent to stand trial, He has been held without bail since March and remains remanded without bail.
He waived his right to be in the courtroom when the trial began before suddenly agreeing to testify Nov. 13. But after a strange incident on the stand where he went silent under the prosecution's questioning, he refused to return to court. He was admonished by prosecutors and the judge in absentia Friday.
In his closing arguments Friday, Landaeta’s attorney Robert Cummings questioned eyewitnesses’ judgment and maintained that Landaeta suffers from schizophrenia-induced paranoia and has a “sick mind.” Deputy District Attorney Josh Keckley-Stauffer in closings accused Landaeta of faking his mental illness and described the defendant as an angry man who displayed intent to murder his ex. Court-ordered medical staffers also testified that prior to trial Solano had not exhibited symptoms of mental illness and stopped taking his medication, and said he was likely “malingering,” or feigning illness.
Landaeta’s sentencing before San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Lisa Novak will take place Jan. 9.
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