Davis, California, deadly stabbings suspect arrested, police say

An arrest has been made in connection with a string of stabbings near UC Davis in California, police announced Thursday. 

Carlos Dominguez, 21, had been taken into custody Wednesday and was formally arrested a day later after allegedly admitting to at least one of the stabbings, CBS Sacramento reported, but police would not confirm if that was true.

About 15 people called police Wednesday to report seeing a person who matched the suspect’s description in a park where one of the stabbings occurred. After he was taken into custody, detectives interviewed the suspect for “many hours,” Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel said Thursday. He was initially arrested for possessing a large knife that he had on him when he was taken into custody. At around 1 p.m. local time Thursday, he was arrested and charged with two counts of homicide and one count of attempted murder, Pytel said.

Dominguez was a student at UC Davis until last week, Pytel said, adding that he would classify Dominguez as a serial killer.

At least three people were stabbed, two fatally, near the campus of UC Davis within the last two weeks. The body of 50-year-old David Breaux was found with multiple stab wounds on April 27 in a local park. 

Two days later, UC Davis student Karim Abou-Najm, 20, was killed in a different park about a mile north of campus. Abou-Najm was killed while biking home from an academic award ceremony on campus, CBS Sacramento reported. It is believed that the suspect fled the scene on Abou-Najm’s bike, according to CBS Sacramento.

One person witnessed the stabbing and saw the suspect flee, Pytel said Thursday. Police began a search that night, but could not find the suspect. 

Police on Monday then found a woman suffering from multiple stab wounds at a homeless encampment near the college campus. Pytel said Thursday the suspect stabbed her multiple times through her tent. She was treated at the scene and then taken to a local hospital, where she was in critical condition, CBS Sacramento reported. Pytel said Thursday that she is “recovering.”

Police again launched a search but were unable to locate the suspect at the time.