The testimony in Carlos Reales Dominguez’s competency trial raised an enormous question: Why did no one intervene as the young man spiraled from high school honor student to accused murderer?
However, without uttering any words, a roommate observed him multiple times silently moving his lips throughout that academic year. He later disclosed to his then-girlfriend that he believed “the devil was communicating with him in his dreams” a few months after beginning his second year of college. He shared with his friends that he experienced auditory hallucinations during his first year at UC Davis.
Dominguez is additionally accused of the attempted homicide of Kimberlee Guillory. One witness after another provided testimony during the hearing, which aimed to determine Dominguez’s ability to face trial for the killings of David Henry Breaux, who was widely recognized as the “Compassion Guy,” and Karim Abou Najm, a UC Davis student scheduled to complete his studies that spring.
He wore a green-dark smock to keep himself safe. Throughout the July trial for competency, the 20-year-old Dominguez sat pale and wraithlike, with unwashed hair, in front of a curtain in front of his eyes.
Juliana Rohrer, a court-appointed psychologist tasked with assessing Dominguez’s mental competence, stated, “In my professional opinion, Mr. Dominguez exemplifies the classic symptoms of schizophrenia.”
Prosecutors contested the aforementioned determination, even though Rohrer had previously determined that Dominguez was unfit to undergo trial, whilst presenting the case before a jury in Yolo County Superior Court.
During the cross-examination, Deputy District Attorney Matt De Moura of Yolo County inquired whether it is accurate to assert that not every individual with schizophrenia is unable.
“That is accurate,” Rohrer stated.
It became abundantly clear day after day, as the testimony of the suffering Dominguez unfolded, that the mental illness ravages that shook this bucolic college town led to the brutal murders, painting a vivid picture of Dominguez’s increasingly difficult life in the trial.
The young troubled man, whether he was capable of helping his own defense, stood trial for an attack that changed a third person’s life and took two lives, causing bloody circumstances. Before the jury consisting of four women and men, it was their task to determine whether the troubled young man should be seated in front of them. However, it remained uncertain whether he was still capable of aiding his own defense.
Caley Gallardo met Davis UC at Dominguez. They became an official couple following the testimony in January. They had connected through a mutual friend and were both starting their freshman year in 2020. They were just friends before then.
Although he was more reserved and quiet, Gallardo testified that he bonded with the couple over their motivation, generosity, and focus on a future filled with accomplishment. He kept his hair short, and Dominguez was still fit from his days of playing football in high school.
Dominguez, a major in biological sciences and a dreamer of becoming a doctor, spoke about his desire to give back to the community by opening a clinic in a blog post that has received significant attention.
Dominguez, like Gallardo, stated that he was a family-oriented individual. While his parents were working, he took care of his younger sister and brother while growing up in Oakland.
“Gallardo testified that he had always felt a strong bond and a sense of responsibility towards his younger siblings.”
Marc Capito, an acquaintance, inquired of Dominguez whether he had “previously encountered auditory hallucinations.” However, signs of strain were beginning to emerge, as Dominguez formed friendships, attended lectures, and participated in social gatherings, gradually acclimating to the university lifestyle.
“I informed him that I declined, and I inquired whether he possessed,” testified the 23-year-old. “He confirmed.”
Dominguez also informed another acquaintance, Phillip Han, that he was experiencing auditory hallucinations.
Dominguez simply dismissed it, but he suggested that going to therapy would be a good idea. At one point, he told Han, “If you ask me if I’ve heard anything in my mind.”
Despite their silence, he would inform her that they were discussing him, and Gallardo stated that she and Dominguez would frequently pass by others.
During his second year in college, Dominguez decided to leave the dormitories and instead moved into a spacious three-bedroom apartment with three fellow students. Testifying in court, Gallardo remembered that this was the point when he started to isolate himself socially. Opting to be alone with her, he chose to stay in his room, and the majority of their time was spent together in seclusion.
In that very academic year, Dominguez shared something that frightened her.
Gallardo said, “He was talking about his dreams, saying that the devil had said it.” She testified that she had never been told by the devil, but had been told multiple times that the devil never said what he told her.
She stated, “Each individual possesses their own unique qualities,” and I somewhat pondered, during that moment I was already committed to a romantic partnership with him, I genuinely had no clue how to process everything…
“Has it ever occurred to you that he could potentially be experiencing a mental ailment?” Dan Hutchinson, who serves as Dominguez’s attorney in the realm of public defense, questioned.
Gallardo testified, “Indeed.” She mentioned that she conversed with him regarding the matter, yet he did not appear open to receiving assistance. She stated that he believed he was fine.
During that spring, he and Gallardo ended their relationship. His personal cleanliness deteriorated in the beginning of 2022. Dominguez started to skip meals and experience weight loss throughout that school year.
Nathan, one of Dominguez’s former roommates, spotted Dios De Riego pointing at Skinny, who looked anything but normal. Even though no words were coming out of his mouth, Nathan could tell by the movement of his lips that he was speaking. This happened in the kitchen.
The 21-year-old expressed, “I was somewhat frightened.” He and Dominguez barely conversed as Riego De Dios became more occupied with classes and work. He acknowledged in court that his increasing distance from his troubled friend also contributed to the behavior he witnessed in the kitchen.
He testified that Dominguez, his roommate, stopped thinking of him as just a friend and started considering him as a close friend. After Dios De Riego moved out in August 2022, Dominguez never spoke to him again.
Dominguez had moved into a house on Hawthorn Lane, taking over a friend’s room, along with three other young men. Additionally, it appeared that Dominguez’s behavior took a downward turn during his junior year.
According to his former roommates’ testimonies, he would spend a majority of his time in his room and engage in regular marijuana use. Often, he would gaze into the distance with a vacant expression during house meetings. According to Capito’s testimony, his roommates had to repeatedly call his name before he would return to the conversation.
Without making any movement, Dominguez would frequently gaze at a wall for a period of 10 to 20 minutes, as stated by Gladis Verdin, a 19-year-old colleague who shared the late-night shift with him at Jack in the Box. Dominguez’s fellow workers had become accustomed to witnessing the young man lost in thought.
“I found it strange … But we were accustomed to it,” Verdin said.
He had a strong body odor and he was even skinnier. His hair had grown out and hung in his eyes. She testified, “I had never seen him before and he was the worst I had ever seen.” Gallardo visited Dominguez’s home that fall.
Capito noticed that his girlfriend’s cat, Ember, had become too skinny as he saw him eating food left on the counter. Capito started ripping open bags of food, desperately trying to get something for the cat to eat, as Ember seemed to be trying to eat anything he could find.
During the winter, he ceased his employment. On his academic records, Dominguez had a retreat, a B-, a failing grade, and a B+ at the conclusion of the autumn term.
The next day, Christian Ortega, one of Dominguez’s roommates, testified that he spotted bent metal poles in the small hole in the wall of Dominguez’s room. Christian Ortega, who is also roommates with Dominguez, heard Dominguez shouting before returning from a Christmas trip.
When Gallardo last saw Dominguez in December, she testified that he had told her he had a Christmas gift for her – a shoebox with a demonic drawing of a face with fangs and horns, filled with lingerie and a long-sleeved shirt with the Playboy bunny logo on it.
Dominguez contacted Gallardo a few more times, but they never had the opportunity to spend time together again.
Following the conclusion of the winter break in 2023, Dominguez seemed to deteriorate.
Ortega observed that he had started to walk with more rigidity, moving, he later informed law enforcement investigators, resembling a “zombie.”
“He would stroll, with his head held high, slightly slow, and with his hands just by his sides, extremely rigid,” Ortega testified.
Capito mentioned, “the potential approach to possibly acquiring assistance for Carlos,” They conversed about the declining state of the young man’s psychological well-being, and the housemates gathered — excluding Dominguez — and conversed.
“We were simply concerned, as I believe at that moment he would no longer recognize us,” Ortega stated.
“Capito testified that their approach to trying to get on angles was still ‘they and,’ but there was nothing set in stone after the meeting. Ortega said that Dominguez, one of the guys, would talk, said Ortega.”
His parents did not respond to repeated requests for comment. His family members did not testify during the trial. Gallardo asked his siblings if she had heard from him. Dominguez’s family also appeared to be worried.
As per the school authorities, he was expelled from the university due to academic reasons on April 25. By the conclusion of the winter quarter, Dominguez had received three failing grades and had withdrawn from two courses.
The 50-year-old man, known for his gentle nature and compassion for those in need, was found dead, stabbed to death, on the bench where he often slept.
According to police accounts, Najm, a UC Davis student, was fatally stabbed as he biked home from a university event where he had received an award.
She allegedly attacked a homeless woman on 1 May, who survived and was hospitalized. The incident took place downtown near railroad tracks, where she was sleeping in a tent.
On May 3, Sidney Slesicki, the former resident of the house on Hawthorn Lane, pulled into the driveway with the intention of studying there. The attacker, an anonymous individual armed with a knife, who has been causing fear and distress in the college town, had previously issued a warning about Dominguez leaving the house.
“Hey, be careful out there — there was another stabbing,” Slesicki recalled telling him. “I don’t think you should be walking around.”.
Dominguez strolled down the center of the road, completely ignoring Slesicki’s presence. Slesicki stated that his gaze was fixated on an empty void. Dominguez made no acknowledgment of Slesicki’s presence.
The account given by eyewitnesses of the perpetrator in the third stabbing incident corresponded to the attire of the adolescent male who was subsequently seen at a nearby park, close to the location where Najm had been murdered. He was garbed in somber apparel – a black hoodie and black athletic pants featuring a white stripe.
Dominguez was apprehended by the police. Within his backpack, they discovered a sizable knife resembling that of a hunting instrument.
Following his arrest in May, Dominguez has been confined at the Yolo County jail. Placed under constant supervision to prevent self-harm, he is accommodated in a cell located within the infirmary. He has been provided with a secure garment and blanket to ensure he remains clothed and warm, while also eliminating the possibility of fashioning them into a rope. His meals are served in a styrofoam tray without any cutlery.
Amy Gutierrez, a mental health clinician who saw Dominguez at the jail, testified that he has demonstrated an inability to care for himself, but he has not expressed a desire to harm himself.
Staff provided testimony stating that Dominguez showed negligence towards his fundamental cleanliness, refusing to take showers or brush his teeth. At a certain moment, his body weight decreased to 108 pounds. Dominguez consumes food sporadically, informing the staff that he lacks any desire to eat.
The court-appointed psychologist, Rohrer, testified that a typical indication of schizophrenia is a deficiency in understanding or recognition of one’s own sickness, despite denying auditory hallucinations and visual perceptions. She emphasized that Dominguez remains motionless like a sculpture, speaks in a flat, unchanging tone, and hardly consumes food.
Rohrer testified, “There is a substantial amount of evidence showing that the symptoms he is displaying are connected to the diagnosis of schizophrenia and are affecting his ability to function, making a strong case in Mr. Dominguez’s situation.”
She stated, “He can still choose his courses for the next quarter, but his junior year did not go well,” Rohrer informed. He was told by the staff that he needed to attend a Zoom meeting with his counselor to register for classes for the upcoming quarter. Although he was still a student at UC Davis, he behaved as if he were in jail at times in Yolo County’s Dominguez County.
Brandi Halsted, a mental health clinician who had a meeting with Dominguez at the jail, testified that he expressed his disappointment in himself. During her testimony, she referred to her notes from that day and quoted Dominguez as saying, “I am making an effort to concentrate on progressing.”
In the Bay Area, Dominguez had a conversation with Halsted two days after, discussing his aspirations of settling down with a house, a spouse, and a family.
Dale Watson, a forensic neuropsychologist hired by the defense, confirmed that the most obvious symptoms of schizophrenia appeared when Dominguez experienced a quarter of winter time.
He verified that Dominguez “is probably suffering from schizophrenia” and stated “this is the initial manifestation of schizophrenia.”
The prosecutors altered their position, but prior to reaching a verdict, the jury listened to evidence about Dominguez’s psychological condition during a challenging five-day period.
“We would concur that Mr. Dominguez is no longer capable of standing trial,” De Moura stated in court on August 3rd.
Judge Samuel McAdam of Yolo County Superior Court stated that Carlos Dominguez lacks the ability to participate in a trial. The judge expressed agreement with both the prosecution’s stance and the defense’s stance throughout the proceedings. Additionally, the judge observed the trial in its entirety and fully supports the court’s willingness to acknowledge and fully endorse the stipulation.
Dominguez will be sent to a state hospital when a bed becomes available during his incarceration, as he has recently refused to take psychotropic drugs ordered by McAdam for involuntary medication.
If Dominguez eventually becomes competent, he could someday face trial in the deaths of Breaux and Najm and the attack on Guillory.
McAdam expressed, as the trial concluded, “I can deliver justice in this courtroom for the victims and our community. I simply desire the utmost well-being for Mr. Dominguez.”