BY EMILY MIBACH
Daily Post Staff Writer
A jury today (Nov. 20) found a man guilty of beheading his ex-girlfriend with a sword in San Carlos in broad daylight.
Jose Solano Landaeta, 34, was found guilty of first degree murder after a two-week trial in San Mateo County Superior Court that was beset with oddities.
Landaeta killed Karina Marie Castro, 27, on Sept. 9, 2022. Landaeta and Castro shared a child.
Landaeta shut down and refused to answer questions last Monday when prosecutor Josh Stauffer began cross-examining him. This caused Judge Lisa Novak to end court early and Landaeta refused to return to court after
that. He also did not attend the opening arguments in the case.
Landaeta and Castro had a tumultuous relationship, resulting in a lengthy fight over social media that resulted in Landaeta driving to San Carlos and killing her, prosecutors argued. Stauffer pointed out messages Landaeta had sent to a friend saying Castro needed to be “86’d.”
Landaeta’s attorney, Robert Cummings, said during opening arguments that his client acted in “imperfect self-defense” because of threats from Castro and that she had two knives, a pink one and a black one, and had taken a swing at Landaeta during their argument. Cummings did not say how long the knives were. Castro’s knives were not recovered by police.
Her father found the pink knife in her car after getting it back from police and threw it away, Cummings said.
Landaeta withdrew his plea of innocent by reason of insanity before the trial began. Innocent by reason of insanity means the defendant was not sane at the time of the crime.
Prosecutors have argued both before the trial and during that Landaeta is making up his mental illness, or playing it up to get the sympathy of the jury, calling doctors who have treated Landaeta who say he could have been making up his problems. Cummings said during the trial that Landaeta suffers from paranoid schizophrenia.
The jury’s verdict of first-degree murder typically carries a sentence of 25 years to life.
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What a horrible way to die. Wish he was eligible for the death penalty.
If a Manson murderer can be released then whats a beheading? their no such thing as a life term in California Newsome has eliminated death row so he will eventually get out for good behavior to prey on the citizens and her death will be in vain.