Amanda Dabrowski went to O’Connor’s Restaurant & Bar in Worcester Wednesday night for a book club meeting. Instead, she was attacked and killed by a man she once dated, authorities say.

Carlos Asencio, 28, of Derry, New Hampshire, allegedly stabbed the 31-year-old woman after she left the bathroom at the West Boylston Street restaurant, according to Worcester police.

Asencio, who was taken into custody at the scene, was ordered held without bail during an arraignment at Worcester District Court on Friday in which a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf. He faces charges of murder, armed assault with intent to murder, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct, and disturbing the peace, officials said. He also had an outstanding warrant out for his arrest.


Authorities identified Dabrowski as the victim of Wednesday’s attack in court documents Friday, The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports.

On Friday, a judge ordered Asencio to undergo a mental health evaluation at Bridgewater State Hospital.

What we know about the stabbing

Worcester police officers were dispatched to O’Connor’s around 7:50 p.m. to a report of a stabbing.

Upon arriving at the scene, they found several restaurant patrons holding down Asencio.

“Officers struggled with Mr. Asencio, placed him in handcuffs, and delivered medical aid to the badly-wounded female victim, who was brought to the hospital by ambulance,” police said in a statement.

Surveillance video shows Asencio entered the bar and was looking for someone until Dabrowski left the bathroom, The Telegram & Gazette reports. He was then seen “viciously stabbing” her before other patrons got involved, according to the newspaper.

“A male patron of the restaurant rushed Mr. Asencio and attempted to help the victim,” police said in the statement. “The male patron suffered a non-life-threatening stab wound during the struggle.”

According to authorities, Dabrowski was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Allen Corson Jr., of Canterbury, Connecticut, told the Boston Herald he was at the restaurant with his family when he heard Dabrowski screaming.

Corson said he grabbed hold of Asencio as other patrons joined in.


“Someone screamed for help. It was instinct — it was gut,” he told the Herald. “It was someone in trouble and I just ran toward it.”

Allen Corson, Jr. is the Good Samaritan who tackled a suspect who was attacking a woman at a Worcester restaurant tonight. Corson was stabbed but just spoke to @philnbcboston on the phone from the emergency room. Next at 11 @NBC10Boston. pic.twitter.com/2Rd7aPV9xE — Michael Rosenfield NBC10 Boston (@MikeRNBCBoston) July 4, 2019

Corson saw two, blood-covered knives on the ground — a kitchen knife and a hunting knife, he said.

Corson was slashed by Asencio during the encounter and was later treated at and released from a hospital, he said.

He told the newspaper that after he was restrained, Asencio said, “Kill me, kill me. I don’t deserve to live.”

Dabrowski was at the restaurant to meet with two other women for the first meeting of a book club, the Telegram & Gazette reports.

Court documents show Dabrowski and Asencio previously dated for a few months.

Asencio had told her that his “‘biggest failure in life was not being able to maintain a relationship with her,'” authorities wrote. “She thought it was strange as she had only dated him for three months.”

In a Facebook post Thursday, restaurant owners Brendan and Claire O’Connor wrote that their condolences “are with the victim and her family.”

“We are overwhelmingly grateful to the police, our guests, and our staff who valiantly responded to help her and apprehend the assailant,” the post says.

Asencio is due back in court on July 25.

Prosecutors say Asencio attacked the victim with a stun gun in April and then fled the country

Prosecutors say Asencio was also wanted on several charges by police in Ayer, where he allegedly attacked Dabrowski with a stun gun after breaking into her East Main Street home in April.

Dabrowski, who was not identified at the time, reported the incident to police around 4:46 a.m. on April 21, according to a May 7 statement from the Middlesex County District Attorney’s office.


Officials said Asencio wore a mask and carried a handgun and a stun gun. The two fought each other, and both suffered nonlife-threatening injuries.

In a new statement Thursday, the district attorney’s office said Asencio, after he fled the scene, traveled to Canada and boarded a flight to Mexico that afternoon.

Prosecutors then notified the U.S. Marshal’s Service and border patrol authorities “to make them aware of the warrant and to request assistance with the suspect’s return,” officials said. The warrant was also filed in the National Crime Information Center.

“Over the next month, investigators obtained information that indicated the suspect was still in Mexico,” the statement says.

Dabrowski said the April attacker was masked & didn’t speak, but reminded her of her ex-boyfriend Carlos Asencio. The suspect had taken her cell phone, which investigators tracked into NH, eventually finding it in a bag with the knives from Dabrowski’s home @NBC10Boston @NECN pic.twitter.com/DExk0x0VsF — Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston (@AlyshaNBCBoston) July 5, 2019

Officials confirmed Thursday that Asencio attacked the same victim in Worcester Wednesday night. According to the district attorney’s office, federal authorities are investigating how Asencio re-entered the U.S.