Woman decapitated in San Carlos identified

SAN CARLOS, CA (CHRON) — A a young mother of two from Northern California who was decapitated with a sword has been identified, and the man accused of her murder was in custody on Friday.

The shocking killing happened at 11:50 a.m. Thursday when a 27-year-old woman — later identified by her sister as Karina Castro — was attacked outside her apartment in the affluent San Carlos Bay Area city.

Witnesses signaled to deputies to alert them to the ongoing sword attack, according to San Mateo County Sheriff’s Lt. Eamon Allen. Allen said the violence stemmed from a domestic dispute between the suspect, 33-year-old Jose Rafael Solano Landaeta, and Castro, a mother of two.

“There was a constant connection between the two of them,” Allen said.

Landaeta fled on foot before deputies arrived just moments after the gruesome attack. Allen said Landaeta ran two blocks away but later returned to the scene unarmed. Deputies searched the neighborhood trying to find the murder weapon.

“He had plenty of time to hide it,” Allen said.

“This is believed to be an isolated incident. There is no current threat to the community,” the sheriff’s office wrote.

Landaeta was being held in the San Mateo County Jail without bond on one count of suspicion of murder.

Anyone with information related to this incident is encouraged to contact Detective Brandt of the Sheriff’s Office at (650) 333-8195.