2023 Davis, California stabbings

Three stabbings occurred in Davis, California in short succession in late April and early May 2023. On the morning of April 27, 50-year-old David Breaux was found unresponsive on a bench in Central Park by passersby. First responders discovered that he had suffered numerous stab wounds, and police began a homicide investigation.

Two days later, Karim Abou Najm, a 20-year-old UC Davis student, was riding his bicycle when he was attacked and stabbed numerous times along a path at Sycamore Park. An eyewitness heard a commotion and went to the scene, witnessing the assailant pick up Najm's bicycle and speed away.

On the night of May 1, another attack occurred when a 64-year-old woman was stabbed through her tent downtown. The assailant fled and first responders took her to the UC Davis Medical Center for treatment.

The three cases were described as a "spree of gruesome knife attacks". A 21-year-old male suspect, Carlos Reales Dominguez, was arrested on May 4 and arraigned on May 5 in Yolo County Superior Court on two murder charges, an attempted murder charge, and several enhancements. Bail was denied. He had previously been a student enrolled at UC Davis, but was dismissed for undisclosed reasons.

Attacks

First attack
The first victim, David Henry Breaux, 50, was found dead on April 27, at 11:20 am. It is unknown when the stabbing occurred. After a welfare check was called in, Davis Police officers found the body of Breaux on a bench in Central Park, located in downtown Davis. He had suffered multiple stab wounds. The victim was homeless and was known to sleep on the bench. Breaux was a fixture on the streets of Davis, where he greeted people and asked for them to share their personal views on compassion.

Second attack
Two days after the attack on Breaux, a second stabbing occurred on April 29, at Sycamore Park in Davis. The crime happened at approximately 9:15 pm. The victim was identified as Karim Abou Najm, 20, a student at UC Davis and a graduate of Davis High School. He was biking home from an undergraduate conference where he had won an award for his outstanding research and development of software designed to help hearing-impaired people. Like Breaux, he also suffered many stab wounds across his body. As the attacker fled, a man who helped Najm at the scene provided a description that matched Reales. Najm died of his wounds.

Third attack
On May 1, shortly before midnight, Kimberlee Guillory, a 64-year-old homeless woman, was stabbed through her tent at an encampment at 2nd and L Street on the outskirts of downtown Davis. She survived the attack and called 911 to report the stabbing. She was hospitalized in critical condition. The suspect was spotted by a group of people at the encampment who provided a description of the attacker, which matched the description given by the eyewitness at the Najm crime scene.

Accused

Carlos Reales Dominguez

The suspect, Carlos Reales Dominguez, is accused of two murders and one attempted murder. He had previously attended UC Davis until being academically dismissed 1–2 days before the attacks.

On May 3, 2023, Dominguez was arrested after being spotted by at least 15 people who called the police tip line and reported that he matched the widely circulated description of the assailant. Dominguez was located by police in the vicinity of Sycamore Park, the location of the Najm murder. He was wearing the same clothes from the night of the attack on Guillory, which helped bystanders identify him. He had a large knife in his possession at the time of the stop, and police said he also had wounds on his hands and wrists. Reales Dominguez is being held at the Yolo County jail.

A student directory listed Dominguez as a sophomore studying biological sciences. Prior to that, he graduated from Castlemont High School in Oakland, California.

References 

Davis, California stabbings
Davis, California stabbings
Davis, California
Death in California
Homelessness in the United States
Davis, California stabbings
Davis, California stabbings
Violence in California