State hospital confirmed for accused Davis killer but transfer could still be months away

A judge on Monday formally committed Carlos Reales Dominguez to a state hospital for no longer than two years, but where or when the man accused in the Davis knife rampage this spring that left two dead will be housed remained unanswered after the morning hearing.

Yolo Superior Court Judge Samuel McAdam set a placement review hearing for Sept. 14 in Woodland, though Reales Dominguez’s attorney, Yolo County Deputy Public Defender Daniel Hutchinson, was not confident Monday that he would move to a state hospital in four weeks’ time.

Meantime, Dominguez remains held without bail in Yolo County custody awaiting the September hearing and his eventual transfer to a hospital yet to be named.

McAdam received a five-page report Monday from medical experts endorsing Reales Domiguez’s hospital commitment to its goals of reducing his risk to public safety and returning him to competency in order to stand trial.

“It’s no surprise to this court that we have a state hospital recommendation,” McAdam said from the bench, restating his ruling that Reales Dominguez is unable to understand the charges he faces or help aid in his defense. Reales Dominguez, McAdam said, remains a danger to others and continues to present a danger of inflicting “substantial, dangerous harm.”

As McAdam spoke from the bench, the family of 20-year-old graduating UC Davis student Karim Abou Najm sat silently in the gallery. Karim Abou Najm and 50-year-old David Breaux were killed in the knife attacks at Davis city parks. A third attack seriously wounded Kimberlee Guillory, 64, as she slept in her Davis homeless encampment.

Reales Dominguez, for the first time since his arrest, appeared in standard-issue gray jail clothes for the morning hearing. Gone was the heavy green safety smock that had defined his previous appearances. His hair, still unkempt, was combed back and away from his face. He did not speak but appeared more alert than in earlier court dates.

Reales Dominguez was deemed unfit to stand trial for murder and attempted murder in the brutal stabbings in late April and early May. Jurors at Reales Dominguez’s July competency trial heard days of testimony from the former UC Davis students’ friends and co-workers along with medical and mental health experts detailing his apparent descent into psychosis that led to the slayings.

Yolo County prosecutors who earlier had challenged defense assertions that Reales Dominguez showed signs of schizophrenia ultimately conceded that he was mentally unfit for trial, setting the stage for a state hospital commitment.