After the 2025 mistrial of the serial stabber, a retrial is scheduled for three years after the deadly attacks
By GIA LOOMIS — city@theaggie.org
On Jan. 22, Yolo County Superior Court Judge Samuel T. McAdam ordered for the retrial of Carlos Dominguez to be postponed from Jan. 20 to May 18, 2026. The order for the postponement of the trial was not released until the pre-trial hearing on Jan. 22.
Dominguez is being tried with two murder charges and one attempted murder charge after his serial stabbing spree in spring 2023. The attacks, which lasted for about a week, left David Breaux and Karim Abou Najm dead and Kimberlee Guillory severely injured.
The retrial, originally set to take place this month, was the continuation of the mistrial that took place last June. However, last spring was not Dominguez’s first appearance in court.
After the stabbings in late April and early May 2023, Dominguez was ruled unfit for trial and likely schizophrenic in a competency trial in July 2023. This ruling put a large halt on court proceedings.
After months of treatment, Dominguez was deemed fit for trial in January 2024. This second trial began on May 5, 2025, where Dominguez pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. This trial centered around Dominguez’s intent and state of mind during these deadly attacks.
Eventually, the May trial hit another barrier, as the jury could not come to a decision regarding the second-degree murder and attempted murder charges that Dominguez faced. During the trial, Dominguez was also acquitted on the first-degree murder charge. The jury deadlock lasted for over a week, leading McAdam to declare a mistrial.
The prosecution quickly sought a retrial, which was originally set to take place Jan. 20, 2026, but was put on hold until Jan. 22, when McAdam declared a date change. The new trial date will begin with pre-trial motions on May 7, with the official trial starting on May 21.
At the pre-trial hearing on Jan. 22, the defense and prosecution brought up trial setting issues given various witness conflicts and delayed subpoenas. Yolo County Deputy District Attorney Matthew DeMoura offered the concerns that led him and Public Defender Dan Hutchinson to request the later trial date.
“Hutchinson and I have been conferring, […] and we sent a follow up email to the court,” DeMoura said. “We’re actually asking for May 18 [for the new trial date], due to some witness issues that developed. That would be the best date for all the parties, with the court’s permission.”
Based on the prosecution and defense’s requests, McAdam approved the trial’s postponement, with respective date changes.
“The jury selection would be at 9:30 a.m. [on] Thursday, May 21,” McAdam said. “The trial will basically go from day-to-day thereafter from 9:30 [a.m.] to 4:30 [p.m.] with a normal schedule.”
The trial is estimated to take 10 weeks. Hutchinson explained possible extensions of the timeline.
“The 10-week estimate includes jury selection, guilt phase, guilt phase deliberations and sanity phase if we reach that,” Hutchinson said. “The 12-week [trial] is based on the possibility of extended guilt phase deliberations and unexpected delays or dark days.”
The trial is set to begin the week of May 21, following pre-trial motions with jury selections. With a 10- to 12-week estimate, the trial will likely conclude in August 2026, ending with decisions made on Dominguez’s two murder charges and one attempted murder charge.
Written By: Gia Loomis — city@theaggie.org
