REDWOOD CITY, Calif. ( KRON ) — The killer who used a samurai sword to decapitate his ex-girlfriend, Karina Castro, in the middle of a San Carlos street was sentenced on Tuesday to serve 25 years to life in prison with possibility of parole.
Jose “Rafa” Solano Landaeta, 34, of Hayward, was sentenced by San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Lisa Novak. The judge told a packed courtroom that she wished she could make the sentence more severe, but legally could not under California law.
Several of Castro’s family members made emotional victim impact statements while Landaeta sat silently, shackled with handcuffs, and guarded by eight sheriff’s deputies.
Castro, 27, was beheaded on September 8, 2022. Horrified witnesses testified watching the woman run for her life down Laurel Street while Landaeta chased her with the sword. Castro’s two young daughters were inside their mother’s Laurel Street apartment at the time.