Man convicted of stabbing ex in front of her book club at Massachusetts restaurant

A New Hampshire man has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of his former girlfriend in a Massachusetts restaurant where she was attending a book club meeting.

Carlos Asencio, 32, was convicted Tuesday by a jury in Worcester Superior Court. He faces a mandatory term of life in prison without parole at his sentencing scheduled for June 29.

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Asencio, of Derry, stabbed Amanda Dabrowski, 31, nearly 20 times in the neck and body inside O’Connor’s Restaurant in Worcester on the evening of July 2019 in front of patrons and workers, some of whom restrained him until police arrived, prosecutors said.

“While no verdict will ever bring Amanda back, we are relieved that a jury found this man responsible for taking her from us,” Edward Dabrowski, the victim’s father, said outside of court after the verdict.

A patron also suffered a stab wound but survived, authorities said.

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“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,” Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said in a statement. “We can only hope this verdict helps the family find some justice.”

The couple had dated briefly.

Asensio’s defense attorney said his client was suffering from a mental illness at the time of the attack and mounted an insanity defense.