Ex-student arrested in stabbings that killed 2 people near California college campus, police say

Davis police announced the arrest Thursday of a suspect in three stabbings that left two men dead and a woman critically injured in the past week, a 21-year-old former UC Davis student originally from Oakland.

Davis police Chief Darren Pytel said Carlos Dominguez, who was a student at UC Davis until last week, was arrested Thursday afternoon on two homicide counts and one attempted homicide charge.

“He is now at the Yolo County Jail and the district attorney will be reviewing reports in the coming days to determine charging decisions,” Pytel said, adding that in his mind Dominguez meets the definition of a “serial killer.”

“These horrific crimes have resulted in immeasurable loss to the victims’ families and friends and to the community,” Pytel said.

He added that detectives still are investigating a motive for the attacks.

The suspect was detained Wednesday at about 5 p.m. a block from Sycamore Park after 15 separate callers phoned police to report seeing a man who matched the description of the suspect in two of the attacks: long, dark curly hair and wearing black Adidas pants with a white stripe.

Pytel said one caller followed Dominguez from Sycamore Park until police arrived and stopped him about a block from the park. Dominguez went with police voluntarily, Pytel said, and police later found a “large knife” in his backpack.

Pytel said police do not know whether Dominguez may have been planning another attack when he was detained.

“What I can say is he was out wandering a neighborhood where the second homicide had occurred,” Pytel said. “He had a large knife and a backpack wearing the same clothes from the third stabbing.

“That’s highly unusual and unique. I think everybody will have to draw their own conclusions on that.”

The arrest comes after a series of knife attacks that began April 27 in Davis with the stabbing death of 50-year-old David Henry Breaux, who was found dead in the city’s Central Park.

Two nights later, on April 29, UC Davis senior Karim Abou Najm, 20, was stabbed to death at Sycamore Park.

The family planned a private service for Thursday, the same day that police were announcing the arrest, and a public memorial is scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday at the UC Davis International Center, 463 California Ave., Suite 3140.

The third attack came May 1 just before midnight when an assailant stabbed a homeless woman multiple times through the side of a tent in a camp at Second and L streets.

The attacker was seen by witnesses at the camp and spotted running away toward downtown, but an extensive search of the area and a shelter-in-place order for residents turned up no suspects. The woman survived the attack.

That week of attacks terrified residents of the normally peaceful community and students at nearby UC Davis, where security patrols were stepped up and night classes were being held remotely as police sought a suspect. UCD said night classes likely will resume Monday.

UC Davis confirmed Dominguez was a student until April 25 when he was “separated for academic reasons.” The first stabbing happened two days later.

The university said Dominguez was a major in biological sciences and was in his third year at the school. A listing for Carlos Reales Dominguez in the UC Davis directory shows a sophomore student majoring in biological sciences.

“We are partnering with law enforcement to provide access to any and all information as part of the investigation,” the university said in a statement. “We are providing support to any students who may have interacted with him.

“As we learn more and are able to provide updates that do not interfere with the ongoing investigation, we will do so.”

As a result of the stabbings, some downtown businesses and restaurants began closing early, and a farmers market scheduled for Wednesday night in Central Park was canceled.

Davis police have said they were hoping to use DNA evidence to pinpoint a suspect and were using the resources of the FBI, state Justice Department and the Sacramento County District Attorney’s crime lab to analyze evidence from the scenes.

In an update Wednesday afternoon, police said “biological evidence has been collected from each of the crime scenes and early returns are being analyzed to determine potential sources; no conclusions regarding source have been made at this time.”

Police added Thursday that evidence recovered includes blood evidence, fibers and trace evidence.

Pytel said Thursday that some of the victims had fought back and that Dominguez “does have some injuries on his arms and hands.”

Pytel also said that police were not aware of any previous criminal history for Dominguez.

He said during questioning that Dominguez was “reserved, he spoke for a long time.”

Initially, police were hesitant to link all three attacks, saying more investigation was needed.

But Pytel said Thursday that was no longer the case.

“At this point, we believe that all three are connected,” the chief said.

Pytel said detectives were still evaluating whether Dominguez may have known Najm - the second victim - from classes or interactions on campus, where both were students.

Dominguez was living in a rented home on Hawthorn Lane with roommates, and police and FBI agents were searching the residence Thursday.

The chief said investigators had spoken with the roommates, but declined to address whether they realized that Dominguez matched the description of the suspect they were seeking.

“We’re still going through the information they provided,” Pytel said.

This story was originally published May 4, 2023 at 3:52 PM with the headline "Ex-student arrested in stabbings that killed 2 people near California college campus, police say."