Family of Davis stabbing victim, "Compassion Guy," finds compassion in forgiveness
DAVIS -- To many, he was known as "Compassion Guy," but to a few, he was "Uncle David," or to a smaller few, "little brother." David Breaux's sister, Maria, "four years and two months" older, said she's keeping her brother's legacy alive.
She listened in a Yolo County courtroom on Tuesday when the former UC Davis student accused of killing two men, David Breaux and UC Davis student Karim Abou Najm, and attempting to kill a woman, Kimberly Guillory, announced he was guilty before apologizing.
Maria Breaux, didn't realize at first that Carlos Dominguez shared a brief apology until she watched media coverage later in the day. To her, forgiveness didn't hinge on whether Dominguez apologized.
"To be honest, I didn't fully hear his statement until it was played back in the media, and I hear part of it, and I heard, 'I'm guilty,' but what I didn't hear is the apology, and 'please forgive me,' " said Maria, speaking to CBS13 from her Bay Area home.
David was the youngest of three siblings, including an older brother. Their father was born and raised in Louisiana during Jim Crow, according to Maria: "...he was segregated, and his family was segregated for being part Black, even if you just had, you know, the one drop rule. If you had just a small portion or any portion."
Maria shared that their mother came to the U.S. from Jamaica and started their family, essentially living in the same family home until they were 18. Her brother, David, found his life's passion in 2009, which brought him to the nickname, Compassion Guy.
"The fact that even though he is not there, people are still compelled to think about compassion and to find for themselves what that means. And they know, even if they don't know who he is, they know that that is a compassion bench where they can come and think about what that means to them and express that in a written form," said Maria.
She thought about her bother's passion for compassion in the Yolo County courtroom on Tuesday, in the same room as the Najm family and Dominguez's family, too.
"I forgive him. A long time ago, I forgave him as soon as my brother, as you know, probably the same day that I found out about my brother, I knew that I had to forgive without even knowing who the person was," said Maria.
Maria explained her brother's work wasn't always met with kindness or compassion. She said he was threatened a few years ago due to his work in the community. He wrote her a message on Facebook that she still has to this day and has enacted in her own life moving forward with healing.
"He told me by Facebook Messenger in 2016, 'If I'm ever harmed and unable to speak for myself, forgive the perpetrator and help others forgive that person,' " said Maria.
She carries that with her throughout the court proceedings and what has become a jury trial to determine if Dominguez is competent to stand trial. After a psychiatric assessment, a doctor ruled he was incompetent for trial, but prosecutors disagreed.
Maria plans to be back in court, in person, next month for the trial, but she won't be carrying anger. In fact, she said there are early talks to mediate a conversation between herself and members of the Dominguez family, if they want, as a form of restorative justice.
She explained the conversation would be mediated by a group like the Yolo Conflict Resolution Center, trained in this work, to allow her to let them know how she has been impacted and listen as they share how they have been impacted.
