Man charged in beheading fit for trial

Jose Rafael Solano Landaeta accused of vicious daylight attack on Karina Castro in September

REDWOOD CITY >> A man charged with beheading the mother of his young child last fall, in a brutal daylight attack witnessed by horrified bystanders on a San Carlos street, has been declared fit for trial following a ruling on his mental competency.

Jose Rafael Solano Landaeta, 33, was declared competent to stand trial Jan. 26 following examinations by a court-appointed doctor. San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Michael Wendler made the ruling three days after the court received a report on the mental competency evaluation.

Court records show that Wendler found Solano “is presently competent to stand trial,” with “criminal proceedings restored.”

Solano has been charged with one count of murder and a charging enhancement for allegedly using a sword to kill 27-year-old Karina Castro, a mother of two young daughters, one of whom is a 1-year-old she shared with Solano.

He faces up to 26 years to life in prison if convicted on the listed charge. A preliminary hearing, in which the court will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to proceed to trial, is scheduled to begin March 1.

San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe reiterated comments he made in September, when the case was suspended pending the competency hearings, that sorting out that issue early was better than at some later point approaching trial.

“I'm grateful it was taken care of at the beginning of the case,” Wagstaffe said Thursday. “I'm glad we can now move to a preliminary hearing and hopefully after that trial.”

Just before noon Sept. 8, neighbors and witnesses reported seeing Solano violently swinging a sword just outside the apartment complex on Laurel Street where Castro lived with her daughters. Solano was said to have initially driven away, but returned to the crime scene where he was spotted and arrested by deputies

with the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.

Authorities said they later found “the bloody sword in his car which was parked two blocks away.”

At the time of Castro's death, Solano had been the subject of a criminal protective order related to an Oct. 31, 2021, altercation at the apartment complex. Court records show Solano was arrested and charged with misdemeanor counts of battery and disturbing the peace, and he reached an agreement in which the battery charge was dismissed and he pleaded no contest to the disturbance charge.

Castro and Solano's relationship was described by friends and neighbors as dysfunctional and turbulent; those who knew them also stated that they had been periodically dating before breaking up again last summer.

Solano remains in custody at the Maguire Correctional Facility in Redwood City, where he is being held without bail, officials said.