Murder trial to open for man accused of killing Amanda Dabrowski at O'Connor's Restaurant

WORCESTER - Jury selection is slated to begin Thursday in the trial of Carlos Asencio, the former New Hampshire man charged with murder in the stabbing death of Amanda Dabrowski at a city restaurant in 2019.

Asencio, formerly of Derry, viciously attacked Dabrowski at her home in Ayer on Easter Sunday of that year, before fleeing the country, returning and viciously stabbing her as she attended a book club meeting, prosecutors have said.

The July 3, 2019, stabbing traumatized family members of the well-loved, 31-year-old microbiologist and patrons of O’Connor’s Restaurant on West Boylston Street who tried to help.

There is no shortage of witnesses to the stabbing, and Asencio - who prosecutors have said harassed Dabrowski after she ended a brief dating relationship - is not expected to contest committing it.

Instead, the testimony, which is expected to open Monday after jurors are seated, is expected to revolve around whether Asencio was legally responsible for his actions at the time of the stabbing.

Defense strategy

His lawyer, Robert Griffin, is pursuing a defense of lack of criminal responsibility - often referred to as the insanity defense - a legal strategy that, experts have told the Telegram & Gazette, is rarely successful in such cases.

Such defenses generally argue that the person committed the act but was not legally liable for their actions because of their mental state at the time it occurred.

A vital part of those trials is generally testimony from mental health experts and evidence that would support such an argument.

In order to rebut such arguments, prosecutors often call experts of their own to testify as to the person’s mental state, and court records show Asencio has been evaluated by experts for the state.

Asencio was initially found not competent to stand trial and sent to Bridgewater State Hospital, but was later found competent and transferred to the Worcester County Jail and House of Correction. He has been in custody since the stabbing.

Prosecutors, as in all trials, will still be required to enter evidence of the crime committed, as well as evidence they can use to argue possible motives.

Earlier case in Ayer

Asencio, prosecutors have said, committed two separate crimes against Dabrowski: a violent breaking and entering into her Ayer home wearing a mask on April 21, 2019, and the stabbing at the restaurant July 3.

They’ve said that Dabrowski fought off her attacker during the April attack but was injured, and that she applied for a restraining order against Asencio shortly afterward.

Authorities have said that Asencio, who had a U.S. passport, fled the country immediately after the April 21 attack before returning at some point and stabbing her numerous times at the restaurant.

Asencio faces separate charges in Middlesex Superior Court relating to the Ayer attack. A status hearing in that case is expected following the conclusion of the murder trial.

Dabrowski’s family members, including her Webster parents, have been outspoken in attempting to change elements of public policy they have said failed their daughter.

They’ve been trying since 2020 to amend a law that offers work protections to victims of domestic violence.

Dabrowski, who worked with Asencio at biopharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers Squibb, was effectively fired, they’ve said, after she was unable to work immediately following the April attack.

The event left her mentally and physically scarred - her writing hand was badly injured, her father, Edward Dabrowski, has said - but she was terminated from a contracting agency that had facilitated her employment at Bristol Myers.

The legislation would extend workplace protections that are codified in law for employees who are victimized by domestic violence to contract employees such as Dabrowski.

State Sen. Ryan Fattman, R-Sutton, told the T&G recently he’s confident the change can be made. He filed a bill on the topic in March 2020, and has refiled it this session.

Civil suit settled

Since the time of her death, the family has filed, and settled, a lawsuit against the companies involved in her employment alleging she was improperly fired and that managers ignored evidence that Asencio was harassing her.

The terms of the settlement have not been made public.

Dabrowski, who would have turned 35 on Feb. 18,  has been described by family and friends as a bright, funny and enterprising woman who traveled the globe and built a following with a wine blog online.

Dabrowski had more than 6,700 followers on her Instagram account, which she named after her blog, “The Glorious Grape.”

She peppered her online postings with humor that, in addition to earning her followers, led to her partnering with wineries on promotions.

In addition to their work on legislation, Dabrowski’s family has continued to honor her memory by raising funds for Abby’s House in Worcester, a nonprofit that offers emergency shelter to women and their children and offers sanctuary to all women, many of whom are victims of domestic violence.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Carlos Asencio, accused killing Amanda Dabrowski at O'Connor's, set for trial