San Carlos sword-beheading defendant drops insanity plea ahead of trial
REDWOOD CITY — With a trial moving forward as early as next week, the defendant accused of a brutal daytime killing — allegedly attacking the mother of his child with a sword — has withdrawn a plea of insanity and will instead proceed with a traditional defense, according to attorneys in the case.
Jose Rafael Solano Landaeta, 33 of Hayward, faces one count of murder after he allegedly the mother of one of his children, 27-year-old Karina Castro, on Sept. 8 last year. Solano allegedly used a sword to brutally kill Castro, essentially beheading her in the shocking crime..
Witnesses said in a March preliminary hearing that they could see Castro’s body after the incident, in a fetal position with her hands in a defensive location near her neck.
In previous court hearings, Solano’s attorney, Robert Cummings, had entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. However, this week, as the case entered jury selection, came a new strategy: Cummings will pursue a traditional defense, forgoing the claim that he was legally insane at the time of the killing.
“This is not an unusual step that was taken by the defense in the case,” San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe said. “They obviously assessed the situation and decided that the plea of not guilty by reason of insanity is not one they felt they could carry … It simplifies the trial and I’m glad for that.”
That decision to change the plea, Wagstaffe said, was likely based on the difficult burden of proving that the action of slaying Castro, which Solano has admitted, was due to his mental state at the time of the incident. Cummings said mental illness diagnoses have been made by doctors leading up to the trial, but proving that the illness was impacting Solano on Sept. 8 was a tougher ask.
“It’s a case that now hinges on imperfect self-defense,” Cummings said.
The self defense claim stems from an object found at the scene — possibly a small pink knife — and apparent threats Castro made toward Solano and his family in the events leading up to her death. At the March hearing, Cummings asked a police officer who was at the scene about the knife; the officer replied that he didn’t see it at the time.
On the morning of her death, Castro and Solano engaged in an argument over Snapchat in which Castro said she had her “(expletive) on the way,” and told him “I’ll take your mom out too.”
“There are elements of self-defense here,” Cummings said near the end of the March hearing. “There are threats against my client and his family.”
On the morning of the slaying, Solano was informed by a friend that Castro had apparently spread rumors about his sexuality online. In an Instagram message to the friend, Solano said she was “looking to get smoked,” and that she was asking to get “86’d.”
As the evidence portion of the trial is expected to begin soon, Cummings urged observers to reserve judgment.
“I just want people to keep an open mind and that’s the most you can ask for,” he said. “It’s going to be very tough because this is probably some of the most grotesque evidence that I’ve seen.”