Davis Stabbings Retrial Nears Verdict: What Mental Illness and Cannabis Use Mean for Justice

After weeks of expert testimony and competing narratives about mental illness, the Davis stabbings case is heading toward a jury decision that could reshape how courts handle violent crimes tied to untreated schizophrenia and substance use.

Closing arguments are set for Tuesday afternoon in the retrial of Carlos Reales Dominguez, a former UC Davis student accused of killing two men—Karim Abou Najm, a UC Davis student, and Davis Breaux, known as the“Compassion Guy”—and seriously injuring Kimberlee Guillory during a stabbing spree in 2023 that lasted nearly a week before police captured him. The case is back in court because his first jury couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict, finding him not guilty on the most serious charge of first-degree murder but deadlocking on everything else.

Here’s where it gets complicated. Prosecutors now concede that Dominguez has schizophrenia—a major shift from the first trial, when they argued he was driven by personal resentment over academic and romantic failures. But they’ve pivoted to a new angle: heavy cannabis use, they argue, worsened his mental condition and made him more dangerous. A court-appointed psychologist testified that Dominguez couldn’t maintain eye contact and had serious memory issues, but she also confirmed he experiences genuine symptoms of schizophrenia, not fabricated or exaggerated ones. She described his internal world as one where paranoia and hallucinations felt completely real—where anyone could be a threat.

The defense is pursuing involuntary manslaughter instead, betting that the jury will see Dominguez’s psychotic episode as the defining factor rather than a secondary one. Involuntary manslaughter doesn’t require intent the way murder does. Because he can no longer be retried for first-degree murder under California law, prosecutors are now chasing second-degree murder and attempted murder convictions.

This case sits at a crossroads in modern criminal justice: How responsible is someone for actions taken during active psychosis, especially when substance use complicates the picture? The jury’s answer Tuesday afternoon won’t just determine Dominguez’s sentence—it could influence how future cases involving mental illness and drug use are prosecuted in California courts.