SAN CARLOS, Calif. (TND) — A man used a sword to behead a young mother-of-two as a group of witnesses stood by stunned, according to reports.
The head was underneath the car and she was laying at the back of the car," neighbor Chapel Thorborne told reporters. "Just severed ... and then they covered her up."The graphic nature of the woman's death in California has prompted the county's sheriff's office to provide counselors for deputies who were first to arrive on the scene in San Carlos, KABC reported, and neighbors.
The woman and the suspect,Jose Solano Landaeta, were reportedly in an ongoing relationship. News outlets said the woman had filed a restraining order against Landaeta in April and he was ordered to stay away from the victim. KGO said Landaeta returned to the scene of the crime as officers were investigating the unidentified woman's death. He was taken into custody and placed under arrest for murder.
Authorities were tight-lipped at a news conference to discuss the killing Thursday. Officials would only say the woman, described as a being in her mid-20s with two young daughters,was killed with "a stabbing instrument."
"We can confirm that a stabbing instrument was used in the commission of the crime. That weapon is still outstanding," Allen said, meaning the search for that weapon was ongoing.
Sources further elaborated to KGO, saying the victim was beheaded. Law enforcement records show reports started coming in shortly before noon. A group of people who witnessed the "assault in progress" flagged down deputies in the area for help. At 12:14 p.m., deputies' notes indicated, "Children are there, scared to come ... want their mom."
Lt. Eamon Allen with theSan Mateo County Sheriff's Office said at the news conference that the victim's two children, ages 7 and 1, did not witness their mother's beheading. However, sources said the two girls were inside the home when their mother was killed in the street outside of her residence.
Anytime someone loses their life it's certainly a tragedy," Allen said. "As far as the shocking nature of it, I do know that the deputies that first arrived on scene were a little beset by the scene. We are providing peer support, we are also providing support for the witnesses that were on scene, as well, because there were several civilian witnesses."There was a history of domestic violence at the home where the mother was killed, sources told KGO.
The young woman's name was being withheld until her family could be notified. It's unclear of Landaeta's relationship with the woman's children; protective services have taken the two girls, as well as a dog and two cats, under their care.
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Caviness reported from Baltimore.
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