Families of Davis murder victims sit in Yolo courtroom in ‘painful journey’ to justice
Nadine Yehya sat quietly in the Woodland courtroom Tuesday morning as a Yolo Superior Court judge scheduled a jury trial to determine whether the man accused of killing her son is mentally competent to face murder charges.
“It’s a painful journey,” Yehya said about her family’s mission to seek justice. “It’s something I wish no mother would have to go through it.”
After Tuesday’s brief hearing, the grieving mother said she did not how her family summons the emotional strength to attend the proceedings — but they will continue to sit in the courtroom to honor her son, Karim Abou Najm.
Carlos Reales Dominguez, a 21-year-old former UC Davis student, is accused of carrying out three brutal stabbings over a week in April and May in Davis.
David Henry Breaux, 50, a local fixture known as the Compassion Guy, was stabbed to death at Central Park. Najm, a 20-year-old UC Davis senior weeks away from graduation, was fatally attacked as he rode his bike home through Sycamore Park. The third victim, Kimberlee Guillory, was inside her tent at a homeless encampment when an assailant stabbed her repeatedly. She survived.
Outburst in court brings family to tears
The families of the victims have continued to attend hearings in the murder case, seeing for themselves what is said in court as the judicial process runs its course. Tuesday’s hearing was difficult for Yehya as she listened to the accused man speak in court.
“I want to apologize,” Reales Dominguez told the judge. “And I want to say that I’m guilty.”
Najm’s mother said she hopes everyone heard what the defendant said — because her family certainly did — even if Judge Samuel McAdam had it stricken from the record.
“We don’t know much about the legal system and how it works. So, we would not comment on that,” Yehya told reporters outside the courthouse. “But I couldn’t stop myself from crying when I heard that.”
Three members of Reales Dominguez’s family, including two children, also sat in the courtroom Tuesday. This time, all three were wearing masks. They left the courtroom shortly after the hearing ended. The man with the children declined to comment for this story.
McAdam ruled that the defendant would face a three-day competency hearing next month so a jury could decide whether Reales Dominguez is mentally fit to face two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. Jury selection will begin July 24.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Raven said the jury must reach a unanimous verdict to decide whether the court should send Reales Dominguez to a state hospital, where he’ll receive mental health treatment to restore his competency before he can return to face charges.
‘We’ll see how we weather it’
Like Yehya, Breaux’s sister is left wondering what will come next in the murder case. Maria Breaux said she would attend the competency trial in person or watch it from her San Francisco home via an online Zoom broadcast.
She has been focused for the past two months on honoring her younger brother’s life by sharing his message of compassion. Now, she said her focus is drawn to the murder case in court.
“So, we’ll see how we weather it,” Breaux told reporters outside the courthouse. “I have compassion for everyone involved. I have great compassion for Karim’s family and what they must be going through, losing a child. And I have great compassion for Carlos Reales’ family, who just was blindsided by this unexpected thing to happen to their child.”
This past weekend, Najm’s family attended the UC Davis graduation ceremony to recognize his academic achievements. He was given a bachelor’s degree in computer science posthumously. His mother said her son was given a standing ovation at the graduation ceremony.
“It’s so emotional. We were there for Karim, but we were also there for Karim’s friends. So, we cheered Karim’s friends because I know everybody worked hard,” Yehya said. “This is not the way we wanted to celebrate this milestone. And we know that we’re gonna miss many milestones.”
