Carlos Asencio found guilty of stabbing Amanda Dabrowski, ex girlfriend 58 times at Worcester restaurant after breaking up with him.
A man was found guilty of murder for stabbing his ex-girlfriend 58 times inside a busy Worcester, Massachusetts restaurant where she was attending a book club meeting in 2019. The blood letting only stopped after a Good Samaritan risked his own life to intercede.
After an eight-day trial, Carlos Asencio, 32, of New Hampshire was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Amanda Dabrowski, 31.
It had only taken jurors two hours to reach a unanimous guilty verdict, CBS Boston reported.
Stabbed 58 times in less than 15 seconds
The murder conviction carries a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole, according to Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr.
A jury also found Asencio guilty of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in connection with the injury of one of the Good Samaritans who tackled him. Sentencing is scheduled for 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, Boston.com reported. ‘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.’
Prosecutors say Asencio stabbed Dabrowski nearly 20 times in the neck and body before being tackled by patrons and restaurant staff. In total the ex boyfriend had stabbed his former love interest no less than 58 times in a span of 15 seconds, MassLive reported.
Prosecutors stated the former boyfriend was motivated by revenge and informed by a desire to manipulate his victim.
‘Carlos Asencio wanted revenge against his ex-girlfriend and former colleague Amanda Dabrowski. You are going to hear that Mr. Asencio later lost his job, became homeless and he blames Amanda Dabrowski for all of these problems,’ prosecutors said in their opening statement last week.
Asencio’s defense attorney Robert Griffin had mounted an insanity defense, arguing Asencio had psychosis at the time and could not be held legally liable, a claim prosecutors and a psychiatrist for the state disputed, WHDH reported.
‘What happened is a result of his mental illness,’ Asencio’s lawyer Griffin said at his trial. ‘What happened is a result of his inability to inform his conduct to the requirements of our law.’
Previous attack months before
Tragedy struck on July 3, 2019 when Worcester police responded to O’Connor’s Restaurant on West Boylston Street around 7:50 p.m. following a report of a stabbing.
Asencio had gone to the restaurant and stabbed his ex, wielding a knife in each hand before patrons and staff held him down until police arrived and made the arrest.
Dabrowski suffered multiple stab wounds and died at a hospital.
The stabbing followed Dabrowski being attacked by a stun gun at the hands of Ascencio – with the woman in turn breaking things off. The man soon after fled to Canada after losing his job and becoming homeless before prosecutors claiming the man returning to the United States in search of retribution.
Dabrowski sought a restraining order against Asencio after the man breaking into her apartment and attacking her with a stun gun.
About two weeks before the stabbing, a couple told Masslive encountering Asencio in Worcester and invited him to stay with them at an abandoned warehouse.
