A woman has been beheaded with a sword in front of stunned witnesses, reports say. This happened Thursday, Sept. 8 in a Bay Area neighborhood in the US West Coast state of California.
According to law enforcement, the mother of two daughters in her 20s and whose identity has not been revealed by the police, knew her suspected killer. The two had apparently been in a relationship marred by domestic violence.
In April, the victim obtained a temporary restraining order against the man who’s been identified as Jose Solano Landaeta of Hayward, police sources told the media, adding that Landaeta was taken into custody, having being arrested at the scene of the beheading, where he returned.
According to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department, deputies were called to the scene of the crime around 11:50 a.m. on Sept. 8.
In a post on Twitter, the department said: ”Deputies were flagged down in the area of Magnolia and Laurel in the city of San Carlos by witnesses reporting an assault in progress.
“Deputies arrived within minutes and located an adult female, deceased. Shortly after, the suspect returned to the scene and was detained by deputies. He has since been placed under arrest for murder.”
According to reports, the woman’s two young girls were inside the home but did not witness the beheading of their mother.
During a press conference held on the day of the murder, Lt. Eamon Allen said the weapon “is still outstanding” and deputies are looking to locate the stabbing instrument.
Sheriff’s deputies and onlookers who witnessed the brutal murder are being offered counseling, according to law enforcement.
“Anytime someone loses their life it’s certainly a tragedy,” Allen said during Thursday’s press conference.
“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.”
Police said the attack was “an isolated incident” and that there was no outstanding threat to the community.
