Killing of David Henry Breaux

Breaux's mother was a Jamaican immigrant who was diagnosed with schizophrenia.[1] His father was French-Creole and worked as a janitor and was physically and emotionally abusive.[1] He had an older sister and an older brother.[1][2] He was raised in Duarte, California.[1]

Breaux graduated from Stanford University, where he majored in urban studies.[1]

After a breakup with a girlfriend, Breaux became dejected and began "searching for inspiration", according to the New York Times.[1] He discovered the work of Karen Armstrong, who argued that "compassion was inherent to peace".[1] He gave away his possessions and moved to Davis in 2009.[1]

Breaux typically carried a notebook with him, and asked passersby to contribute to it by writing their definition of compassion.[1] Local residents and workers at businesses in the area considered him "a communal therapist of sorts", according to the Times.[1] He was known as "the Compassion Guy".[1]

In 2010 Breaux self-published an e-book, Compassion: A Compilation of Concepts on Compassion, created from the contributions to his notebook.[2]

In 2013 the city of Davis commissioned a bench to be created at the corner of Third and C streets, which members of the community turned into public art and included the words "Compassion is..."[1] Breaux sat on the bench, known as the Compassion Bench, daily.[2]

In 2010 a University of California Davis student created a documentary about Breaux.[1]

Breaux was found dead in April 2023, the first in a series of stabbings in Davis. After a welfare check was called in, Davis Police officers found the body of Breaux on a bench in Central Park, located in downtown Davis across the street from the corner where Breaux interacted with passersby.[1][3] He had suffered multiple stab wounds. He had been known to sleep on the bench.[4][5]