Woman beheaded with a sword outside her house in California

In a horrific incident reported from California, a 27-year-old woman was beheaded by a man with a sword right in front of her house in San Carlos.

The victim, identified as Karina Castro, was allegedly attacked by her 33-year-old ex-boyfriend, Jose Rafael Solano Landaeta, on Thursday.

The woman was a mother to two girls, aged seven and one. And Landaeta was the father of her youngest child. He was arrested shortly after the police discovered Castro's body lying in the back of her car. Her head was found underneath the car.

The gruesome killing has left the family shocked and traumatised. The woman's father, Martin Castro Jr., told NBC Bay Area that the man was a diagnosed schizophrenic and that they even had a restraining order against him. He added that his daughter would see Landaeta now and then.

"Every time I saw her, I would beg her. Don't talk to him. Leave him and it seemed like the more I did that, the more she would see him," he said, recalling the horrific killing of his daughter. "I feel like this is a horror movie I need to wake up from," he added.

The woman was a mother to two girls, aged seven and one. And Landaeta was the father of her youngest child. She used to work as a DoorDash driver and was raising her daughters alone.

According to a report in The Independent, the children did not witness the incident even though they were in the house when their mother was killed. They were later taken away by Child Protective Services (CPS).

The family is now trying to get the two girls back from CPS. "I want those girls. That's what I want first, then I want Rafa to fry in jail. I don't care what happens to him," said the victim's grandmother.

Meanwhile, Landaeta has been charged with homicide. He is due to appear in court on Monday.