Man convicted of beheading his son’s mother with a sword

• José Rafael Solano Landaeta was convicted of beheading his ex.
• He killed Karina Castro in the middle of the street.
• The trial revealed chilling details.

Karina Castro was brutally murdered by her son’s father, José Rafael Solano Landaeta.

He cut off her head with a samurai sword in the middle of the street, in Mateo County, California.

«The officers who arrived first were disturbed by the scene,» Sheriff Eamonn Allen told reporters at the time.

The couple’s problems escalated beyond anyone’s imagination on September 8, 2022, and no one could stop what happened.

Nobody intervened in the horrific beheading

José Rafael Solano Landaeta and Karina Castro were arguing in the street and there were many witnesses, but no one intervened.

He took out the sword and, in just a matter of seconds, Karina’s head was rolling under a car in front of her two children, one 7 years old and the other only 1 year old, according to what was presented at the trial.

«This crime was cruel. There is no credible evidence that the defendant suffered from any mental health problems on the day of the crime,” prosecutor Josh Stauffer said during the trial.

Landaeta said he was acting in self-defense and that Castro was holding a knife.

Relatives say he had mental health issues

Later, his relatives assured that he had mental health issues.

Despite this, police records tell a different story.

José Rafael Solano Landaeta had a restraining order that forbade him to come near his ex, but he did not respect it.

On Monday, November 20, a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder with the use of a sword, according San Mateo County District Attorney.