Amanda Dabrowski, left, Carlos Asencio (Asencio’s photo screenshot from Boston’s CBS affiliate WBZ; Dabrowski’s photo screenshot from Fox affiliate Boston 25 News)
A man was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, stabbed 58 times in a Massachusetts restaurant where she was attending a book club meeting before he was tackled by good Samaritans, prosecutors said.
Carlos Asencio received the sentence in a courtroom on Thursday for the death of Amanda Dabrowski, 31. A judge also sentenced him to serve nine to 10 years on an assault and battery with a dangerous weapon charge in the nonfatal stabbing of one of the good Samaritans. That sentence will run concurrent with the murder charge, officials said.
Family members addressed Asencio, who waived his right to appear in the courtroom and listened instead to audio of the proceedings from another room via Zoom, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported.
“You’re a coward,” said Victoria Dabrowski, Dabrowski’s younger sister, the paper reported.
Her father was devastated over losing his intelligent, funny and selfless daughter, a Northeastern University graduate with a biology degree and a criminal justice minor. He noted the fourth anniversary of her killing is July 3.
“There are no more July 4 cookouts,” he said, the newspaper reported. “It’s now merely a remembrance of a sad and devastating time.”
Asencio’s attorney Robert Griffin, who mounted an insanity defense at trial, read a statement from his client, saying, “My thoughts and prayers go out to any victims of this incident.”
“Despite what the court may have said, this is a mental health tragedy,” the statement continued, according to the newspaper. “I will spend the rest of my days trying to atone for this by helping others with similar illnesses, such as schizoaffective disorder, PTSD, borderline personality disorder and depression.”
Asencio was convicted last week after an eight-day trial.
It all went down on July 3, 2019. Worcester police responded to O’Connor’s Restaurant on West Boylston Street around 7:50 p.m. for a report of a stabbing.
Asencio had gone to the restaurant and stabbed Dabrowski, 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 good Samaritan who tackled Asencio, Allen Noble Corson, Jr., received a Carnegie Hero Fund Commission honor recognizing his courageous act.
The then 26-year-old slot machine attendant was dining with his parents and fiancee when he heard Dabrowski’s screams for help as the assailant stabbed her in the front of the torso from behind, a news release noted.
Corson was stabbed during the struggle and managed to slip from his grasp, bleeding profusely. Two other patrons joined him in subduing the assailant, one prying a knife from his hand until police arrived. Corson’s wound was ultimately stitched closed.
Asencio and Dabrowski met while they were both working at Bristol Myers Squibb and dated for three months before Dabrowski broke things off, reported Boston.com.
Later, when Asencio lost his job and became homeless, he blamed her, the news site reported.
Months before the fatal stabbing attack, Asencio was suspected of breaking into her home, attacking her with a stun gun before she fought off the attacker. Afterward, Asencio fled to Canada and boarded a flight to Mexico, the last she knew of his whereabouts, the site reported. Dabrowski sought a restraining order against Asencio after that attack. That case is pending.
About two weeks before the stabbing, a couple told Masslive they encountered Asencio in Worcester and invited him to stay with them at an abandoned warehouse.
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