Death of Karina Castro inspires expanding anti-domestic violence campaign in San Mateo County

CORA’s Speak Up Community Education pilot program was initially seeded with a $50,000 contribution from the San Carlos City Council which was looking for a way to honor Castro while also educating the public on the designs of domestic violence.

Castro, 27, was killed in broad daylight allegedly by the father of one of her children, Jose Solano Landaeta, 33, on Sept. 8, 2022. Opening statements in Landaeta’s criminal case began Tuesday, Nov. 7. Landaeta pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in May and now faces from 26 years to life in prison on charges of murder and an extra enhancement charge for using a deadly weapon.

Since the start of the year, another five women across San Mateo County have been killed by an intimate partner, Ferguson said. The deaths account for all of the county’s homicides this year, she added.

Concerned by the violence that occurred to Castro, Mayor Adam Rak and Councilmember Sara McDowell, then the vice mayor and mayor respectively, reached out to CORA to “make sure something good and positive came from this tragedy,” Ferguson said. The city’s funds enabled CORA to hire a part-time community director who has spent the past year focused on educating businesses about warning signs of various types of abuse and what to say and what not to say.

“We thought about where Karina would have touched, where would there be help for people like her,” Ferguson said. “If we’re all helping people get information early, to question love bombing, question when everything is blamed on you, when people can actually say, ‘yeah that doesn’t sound right,’ that actually allows us time to change the situation.”

Hundreds of businesses have been contacted by CORA since it began its pilot, either in person or over the phone. While some have been harder to connect with, such as hair salons where stylists often work independently from the shop, others were eager to participate, Ferguson said.

Donna Avanzino, executive director of San Carlos Children’s Theatre, lauded the 15-minute training as a great refresher course for her staff who are all trained as mandated reporters. A key lesson learned from the sessions was to be an active listener, Avanzino said.

Two other key factors motivated the company to participate, Avanzino said — the fact that their staff works with more than a 1,000 families per year, including small children, and that the assault on Castro occurred so close to home.

“Undeniably, it rocked everyone’s world around me,” Avanzino said. “I really like the thought that lots and lots and lots of people in my community are participating at the same time in the same thing. We’re all getting on the same page so to speak, that resonated.”

The issue has also been a major concern for many SamTrans employees, Wendy Lau, deputy director of the transportation agency’s Office of Civil Rights, said. The SamTrans central office is also located near where the assault took place but, more importantly, the agency interacts with thousands of people a day who may be struggling, making staff a great potential information provider, Lau said.

Between 25 and 30 SamTrans employees participated in one of three workshop sessions, one offered in person and two offered remotely, Lau said. The lessons struck a chord with employees, she added.

“Hopefully this opens the door for more interactions with CORA,” Lau said. “Right now, our focus is on getting their information out to the people who need it.”

After piloting the program in San Carlos, CORA is now expanding into other San Mateo County cities, promising to touch between 270 and 300 businesses and conduct at least 60 15-minute presentations within three months.

Ferguson credited San Mateo Mayor Amourence Lee with helping connect the nonprofit with other local mayors, enabling the program to expand. Lee was responsible for hosting the August meeting of the Council of Cities, a body of local mayors that meets monthly.

Lee tapped Ferguson as a co-host of the meeting that was held at CORA’s main office in San Mateo, Lee said. During the meeting, local leaders got to tour the site and learn more about the campaign.

Ten cities are now involved with the program including San Mateo, San Carlos, South San Francisco, Daly City, Pacifica, Foster City, Millbrae, Belmont, Hillsborough and East Palo Alto. The partnership costs most cities $10,000 though cities with smaller business footprints were offered lower rates. Those funds will go toward hiring additional staff to help conduct outreach, either a full-time educator or multiple part-time educators who can focus on specific areas.

“CORA is an organization that I’ve turned to and after multiple DV murders in our County, it felt urgent to bring local leaders together around this issue,” Lee said in an email statement. “Already, eight cities have joined the pilot program, including San Mateo and I’m thrilled to see growing momentum.”

If you or a loved one are a victim of domestic violence, you can call the 24-hour crisis hotline at (800) 300-1080 or visit corasupport.org.