The man charged with fatally stabbing two people in California and injuring a third had a full scholarship to college, it turned out, and was studying to become a doctor.
Carlos Dominguez, 21, was arrested Wednesday after terrorizing the college town of Davis.
He appeared in court Friday in Woodland, 15 miles north of Sacramento, and pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
The University of California, Davis confirmed that he had been a student until April 25, in his third year of a biological sciences class, “when he was separated for academic reasons.”
They did not give more details.
Carlos Dominguez will appear in Yolo County Superior Court in Woodland on Friday
Dominguez pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and a third count of attempted murder
Dominguez, a former UC Davis student, was apprehended by police shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday just a block from where a student was killed Saturday night
A map shows where each of the three stabbings took place
David Breaux, 50, (left) was the first to be killed, on April 27. On April 29, another stabbing took the life of UC Davis senior Karim Abou Najm (right). The 20-year-old computer science student was on his way home when he was killed in Davis’ Sycamore Park
Dominguez had a full scholarship to UC Davis and was studying to become a doctor, but he was forced to leave on April 25
“We urge the community not to jump to conclusions or speculate until all the facts are known,” the press release said.
“We are grateful for the prompt response and resolution of the police during an extremely difficult period for the city and the campus.”
Two days after the university kicked him out, Dominguez allegedly stabbed 50-year-old David Breaux to death.
Breaux, a beloved homeless person known locally as “Compassion Guy,” was found on a bench near campus at 11:20 a.m. and “stabbed many times.”
On April 29, UC Davis senior Karim Abou Najm, 20, was on his way home from a student awards ceremony at about 9:15 p.m. when he was fatally stabbed.
Then at around 11:46 p.m. on the morning of May 1, a 64-year-old woman, Kimberlee Guillory, was stabbed through a tent at a homeless camp. She remains in critical condition.
On Friday, police continued to search the home Dominguez shared with a roommate and take bags of evidence.
“This is a really hard-traveled road by a lot of people. Children. Old couples and college students,” said Talia Mickelsen, who lives across the street from the house where Dominguez lives, speaking to KCRA.
“So it’s kind of scary that something like this happens in such a populated area.”
Another neighbor, who asked not to be identified, lives a few houses away and told KCRA 3, “It’s especially scary, especially when you leave campus at night because some of us have night classes.
“And like, knowing the killer was right next door, that was so scary.”
Dominguez lived in this house with a roommate. Police combed the building on Friday
The police search the house where Dominguez lived
A person was apprehended by police shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday on a quiet, tree-lined street just a block from where a student was killed on Saturday
A 64-year-old woman was stabbed through the tent she was sleeping in. Two other stabbings claimed the lives of Karim Abou Najm and David Breaux
Karim Abou Najm, a 20-year-old computer science student, was due to graduate in six weeks and had two jobs scheduled, his father Majdi Abou Najm said.
Dominguez had come to the US from El Salvador in 2009 as an unaccompanied minor.
He crossed over near Galveston, Texas, and was handed over to a relative at the time.
He was a student at Castlemont High School in Oakland before attending UC Davis.
His former high school football coach, James Barnes, said Dominguez was a good athlete and student.
“Great boy, 3.85 GPA. He was involved in all school activities. He also ran track and participated in other track and field events as well,” said Barnes.
Barnes told KCRA that Dominguez volunteered for organizations and won the full scholarship to college.
‘Nice child. Never had any problems,” said Barnes.
‘Highly respected by his colleagues. He respected adults.
“I wouldn’t know where this would come from.”
Davis police chief Darren Pytel said he was surprised by Dominguez’s behavior when he was arrested. A large hunting knife was found in his backpack: the police are trying to find out whether this was the knife used in the stabbings.
“The behavior was quite unusual in a circumstance like this. He was compliant throughout the process,” said Pytel.
“He was reserved and spoke long.”
Will Arnold, mayor of Davis, said Thursday: “The killer is off the streets and our families can sleep more peacefully.”
Arnold said Breaux’s “brutal” murder was “devastating.”
A memorial erected at Compassion Bank in Davis to honor 50-year-old David Henry Breaux, who was found stabbed to death last week. He was a fixture in the community for over a decade
People view a memorial erected on the Compassion bench in Davis, California
Breaux, who has been a fixture in the community for the past decade, played an “instrumental” role in the addition of a “Compassion Bench” at the corner of 3rd and C Streets in 2013.
“David Breaux’s death is utterly devastating,” Arnold said.
“Many of us knew David. We spoke to him. We shared his vision for a kinder world.
“We got connected to what it means to be human and human.”
On the bench, he asked people their definition of the word “compassion.”
He later published his notes as a collection of anonymous writings.
“Like so many of you, I mourn the death of David Henry Breaux, known as the Compassion Guy,” said the UC Davis chancellor.
“David lived a life with real purpose, to unite humanity for the greater good, something we should all strive for.”