Evaluation expected soon for man charged with fatal stabbing in Worcester restaurant

Marco Cartolano, Telegram & Gazette
·1 min read
Carlos Asencio at his District Court arraignment in 2019.
Carlos Asencio at his District Court arraignment in 2019.

WORCESTER — An evaluation of the mental fitness of Carlos Asencio, the man charged with murder following the 2019 stabbing of Amanda Dabrowski at a Worcester restaurant, is expected within the next two to three weeks, his lawyer said Monday.

Robert M. Griffin, Asencio’s lawyer, said Monday in Worcester Superior Court that Asencio has been examined "multiple times" by an expert that Griffin hired to evaluate him for a diagnosis ahead of his expected insanity defense at trial in December.

Griffin said he planned to coordinate with another expert who the Worcester County District Attorney's office hired for a separate evaluation of Asencio after the results come in. A judge set a new status date of Nov. 1 to await the results of the evaluation.

Authorities allege Asencio broke into Dabrowski’s Ayer apartment early morning of April 21, 2019, and assaulted her with a stun gun, pulled a gun on her and tried to strangle her. On July 3, 2019, Asencio is alleged to have viciously stabbed Dabrowski at O’Connor’s Restaurant on West Boylston Street.

The prosecution also submitted a motion to inspect impounded recovered material with no opposition from Griffin.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Carlos Asencio to get evaluation ahead of murder trial