Karina Castro, 27, was beheaded with a sword Thursday morning outside her San Carlos apartment, according to KRON4. Her ex-boyfriend Jose Rafael Solano Ladaeta, 33, is currently in custody and charged with murder. Karina Castro in a Facebook profile picture (Photo: Karina Castro/Facebook) Karina Castro in a Facebook profile picture (Photo: Karina Castro/Facebook) “I feel like this is a horror movie that I have to wake up from,” the woman’s father, Martin Castro Jr., told NBC Bay Area, adding that none of her family members had eaten or slept since the shocking incident. Castro was the mother of two daughters, ages 7 and 1, and worked as a delivery driver. Law enforcement sources and the woman’s father both told ABC7 News that Castro had obtained a temporary restraining order in April against Landaeta, who is the father of her youngest child, although the couple had continued to interact since then. Castro had expressed fear for Landaeta shortly before her death, saying he was “targeting her,” her friend Maricela Macedo told the San Francisco Chronicle. Relatives remembered Castro as someone devoted to her family, especially her daughters. “She was an amazing girl. She was a great mom,” Castro Jr. told KTVU. “The most caring person I have ever met. He always had my back.” Her grandmother, Danielle Gannon, echoed those sentiments in an interview with KGO-TV. “She was an amazing woman, very stubborn, determined to raise her daughters on her own,” Gannon said. You need help? In the US, call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
