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Man found guilty of murdering ex-girlfriend Amanda Dabrowski in Worcester restaurant
“While no verdict will ever bring Amanda back, we are relieved that a jury found this man responsible for taking her from us.”
The New Hampshire man who stabbed Amanda Dabrowski to death in a Worcester restaurant four years ago is facing life in prison after a jury found him guilty of murder Tuesday.
Prosecutors said 32-year-old Carlos Asencio stalked Dabrowski — a former co-worker and ex-girlfriend — for months before stabbing her a total of 58 times inside O’Connor’s Restaurant & Bar on July 3, 2019.
His eight-day trial resulted in a guilty verdict on a first-degree murder charge, Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. announced in a press release. Asencio was also convicted on a charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in connection to an injured restaurant patron who helped subdue him following the attack.
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The murder conviction carries a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole, Early’s office said. Asencio is due for sentencing on June 29.
“While no verdict will ever bring Amanda back, we are relieved that a jury found this man responsible for taking her from us,” Dabrowksi’s family said in a statement through the DA’s office. “We know he can never harm another person again. The jury helped us find some justice today, though we know there are no real winners.”
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In court earlier this month, prosecutors explained how Asencio met Dabrowski, 31, while working at the pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb. The pair dated for three months starting in December 2018, but Dabrowski eventually broke things off.
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When Asencio later lost his job and became homeless, prosecutors said he blamed Dabrowski. He allegedly broke into her home and attacked her with a stun gun that spring, also secretly taping a phone to her vehicle to track her location.
Shortly before 8 p.m. on July 3, 2019, he ran up to Dabrowski inside O’Connor’s and began stabbing her, a knife in each hand. Dabrowski was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Several bystanders subdued Asencio, who was arrested at the scene. Asencio’s defense team argued he was suffering from psychosis at the time and could not be held legally liable, a claim that prosecutors and a psychiatrist for the state disputed, The Telegram & Gazette reported.
In a statement, Early thanked the prosecutors, victim witness advocates, and members of the jury who served on the case, as well as the bystanders who rushed to Dabrowksi’s aid and “displayed bravery in a horrific situation.”
“The loss of Amanda was devastating and tragic. Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family. No one should ever have to go through something as horrible as this,” he said. “We can only hope this verdict helps the family find some justice.”
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