IMAGE: Mother-of-two, 27, who was beheaded in broad daylight outside her Bay Area home

A mother of two who was beheaded in broad daylight has been identified and her ex-boyfriend has been arrested in connection with her death.

Karina Castro, 27, was beheaded with a sword outside her Bay Area home on Thursday as shocked neighbors watched the terrifying scene unfold.

Her two daughters, ages 7 and 1, were in the house and did not witness their mother’s brutal murder that morning.

Castro’s ex-boyfriend, 33-year-old aspiring rapper Jose Raphael Solano Landaeta, known simply as Rafa Solano, was promptly arrested by the San Mateo County Sheriff in connection with her death.

Landaeta is the father of Castro’s 1-year-old daughter, authorities say, but in April she was given a restraining order against him.

Castro’s family now says Landaeta is a diagnosed schizophrenic with a history of drinking on his medication, whom they warned Castro to stay away from.

He is said to have left the crime scene on Thursday, only to return minutes later when police were at the site of Castro’s home in San Carlos.

Landaeta will be arraigned in San Mateo court on Monday.

She was a mother of two daughters who earned her GED from Menlo-Atherton High School and was working as a Door Dash driver at the time of her death

Castro’s ex-boyfriend, 33-year-old aspiring rapper Jose Raphael Solano Landaeta, was arrested in connection with her death. He will be brought before the examining magistrate on Monday

Castro’s family is now speaking out about her apparently abusive relationship with Landaeta, saying they worried about it for years before her death on Thursday morning.

Her father, Marty Castro, told… ABC7 how he seized every opportunity to try and stop her from seeing him, saying, “Every time I saw her, I begged her, ‘Don’t talk to him, leave him.’

“And it seemed like the more I did that, the more she’d see him.”

He and the victim’s grandmother, Danielle Gannon, described Castro as an independent woman.

She had attended Menlo-Atherton High School, where she earned her GED, and was working as a Door Dash driver at the time of her death.

Castro was “determined to raise her daughters alone,” Gannon said.

But she apparently had some issues in her relationship with Landaeta, who Gannon claimed is “a diagnosed schizophrenic on medication.” She claimed he “would use that as an excuse for his behavior.”

“He drank too much and you can’t do that with those drugs,” Gannon explained.

Marty now warns parents: ‘If someone is abusing your daughter, don’t run away. Don’t let it go. Don’t take “no” for an answer.

“You will feel responsible no matter what anyone says.”

Castro’s grieving father, Marty (right), and her grandmother, Danielle Gannon, have spoken out about her seemingly abusive relationship with Landaeta

Meanwhile, newly discovered Snapchat messages between Castro and Landaeta reveal that she had threatened to expose his alleged relationship with another man just before her death.

Landaeta then sent her threatening messages back, which eventually led to the confrontation outside Castro’s house on Thursday morning, when her father said: “He got really mad, went to the trunk of his car, took out whatever it was and killed her.” the right way. there behind her car.’

Neighbor Thorborne said he caught sight of the horrific scene from the steps of his home near the corner of Laurel Street and Magnolia Avenue, in San Carlos.

“The head was under the car and she was in the back of the car, just chopped off,” he told ABC.

Authorities say the murder took place around 11:50 a.m. and officers were on the scene within minutes.

Once there, they saw Landaeta and two friends returning to the victim’s home, where he was quickly arrested.

“After he chopped off her head, he came over, he and his two friends,” Thorborne told ABC. “And they walked right past me and they arrested him.”

“He was hurt, shocked, disappointed,” he added of the suspect.

Police said they are still looking for the sword used in the beheading and are investigating.

Authorities say the murder took place around 11:50 a.m. and officers arrived at Castro’s home in San Carlos within minutes.

Arriving there, they saw Landaeta and two friends return to the victim’s house, where he was quickly arrested

Meanwhile, Castro’s family fights for custody of Karina’s two daughters, who were placed under the care of Child Protective Services in the wake of Child Protection.

“I want those girls,” Gannon told ABC7. “That’s what I want first, then I want Rafa to bake in prison. I don’t care what happens to him.’

Marty said he also contacted animal control to try and get custody of Karina’s dog and two cats, which were recovered.

And he put a GoFundMe who had already exceeded the $25,000 goal for Karina’s funeral on Saturday.

Thank you, all this money will help [Karina’s daughters] and help us give my daughter an unforgettable funeral,” he wrote on Saturday’s online fundraiser.

“I am devastated, devastated, empty and more hurt than I ever imagined by the situation,” he added. “But thank you all for helping us.”