A California man who admittedly beheaded the mother of his child on a city street with a samurai sword in September 2022 but claimed the killing was in self-defense has been convicted of her murder.
Jose Rafael “Rafa” Solano Landaeta, 33, was found guilty by a jury of his peers on Monday for the Sept. 8, 2022, death of Karina Castro, 27, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.
The shocking daytime slaughter occurred on the corner of Laurel Street and Magnolia Avenue in the medium-sized suburb of San Carlos, which is located roughly 25 miles south of San Francisco, Law&Crime previously reported.
Solano has never denied what he did.
In an interview from the jailhouse earlier this year, the since-condemned man told San Francisco-based ABC affiliate KGO-TV reporter Dan Noyes that he feared for his life because Castro grabbed a weapon of her own on the day in question.
“He says she emerged from the driver’s side of [her] Volkswagen with the knife in hand and kind of marched towards him with this knife,” the reported recalled in a debriefing with colleagues after he left the San Mateo County Jail. “And he claimed that he swung that sword in self-defense.”
Evidence during trial showed the killer and the mother of two had been increasingly angry with one another in the days leading up to the attack, according to local CW affiliate KRON. A defense attorney even characterized their relationship as “toxic.” Castro accused her ex-boyfriend of being a pedophile and a rapist in a series of private social media messages. In response, Solano sent a series of ninja emojis — the animated men even had swords on their backs.
Jose Rafael “Rafa” Solano Landaeta, on the left, admittedly beheaded Karina Castro, on the right, with a samurai sword in September 2022. He claims the killing was in self-defense. (Via screengrab/KGO-TV)
“The head was underneath the car and she was laying in the back of the car — just severed,” neighbor Chapel Thorborne told KGO-TV last year. “And they covered her up.”
Witnesses saw the two in a verbal altercation on the street before the violence occurred. Castro’s two children were present — one of whom is also Solano’s daughter — but were later moved upstairs. At some point, the killer went back to his car, retrieved the samurai sword and struck. The man was seen repeatedly “slashing” at the mother of his child several times until her head had almost completely come off, according to Palo Alto Online.
“This crime was vicious,” prosecutor Josh Stauffer said during trial. “This crime was cruel. There is no credible evidence that the defendant suffered from any mental health condition on the day of the crime.”
The prosecution argued that Solano actually planned the sword attack. On the day in question, he told his boss he was sick, left early, retrieved the sword from his home an hour away, revealed his intention to a friend, and then drove to confront Castro.
Solano first entered not guilty by reason of insanity plea but was deemed competent to stand trial. Later, he changed his plea to a formal “not guilty” plea while claiming the killing was in self-defense.
Defense attorney Robert Cummings also told jurors that his client’s schizophrenia diagnosis made him genuinely fear for his life due to the messages he received from Castro, according to USA Today. The defense also raised the idea that the victim tried to stab Solano first — but no evidence was ever presented to support that version of events.
Multiple medical professionals testified that there was no link between Solano’s mental health issues and the brutal killing.
The woman tried to run during the attack — but Solano was determined. The killer struck her at least seven times.
One witness who testified reportedly said he saw Solano “swing at Castro with such a blow, her arm was almost severed from her body.”
The convicted killer faces 26 years to life in prison.
State justice was cold comfort to the woman’s family.
“My daughter is still gone,” Martin Castro, the deceased’s father said outside the courthouse during a brief press conference after the verdict. “My daughter was my life. I just want her back.”
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