Judge: Man accused of stabbing ex-girlfriend to death not competent for trial

WORCESTER, Mass. — A New Hampshire man charged with fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend at a Massachusetts restaurant has been found mentally incompetent to stand trial.

A judge found 28-year-old Carlos Asencio not competent based on a psychiatric evaluation at Bridgewater State Hospital that was ordered at his arraignment Thursday.

The Derry, New Hampshire man faces murder and other charges in the July 3 stabbing of Amanda Dabrowski at O'Connor's Restaurant & Bar in Worcester.

Dabrowski, a 31-year-old Ayer resident, was there for a book club meeting and had just left the bathroom when she was attacked. Several other patrons stopped the attack and restrained the suspect.

Asencio's attorney, Robert Griffin, said in the court that hospital officials want to commit his client for an additional six months.

His attorneys claim he hears voices and in the past had threatened to take his own life. But Asencio is facing murder charges for killing Dabrowski, 30, a co-worker he dated for only two months.

As 25 Investigates has reported, Asencio is also accused of trying to kill Amanda during a violent home invasion in her Ayer apartment on Easter Sunday. Investigators say Dabrowski fought him off during that attack and ran to police.

But it's here that so many questions arise in this case.

"This doesn't make sense," her father, Ed, said. "Someday, somebody will explain it to us right now we can't comprehend."

We uncovered a trail of police and court records that show after the Easter Sunday attack, Asencio left the country. Within hours, he was in Canada -- where he allegedly boarded a plane bound for Mexico.

The Middlesex District Attorney issued a warrant for his arrest and notified numerous federal agencies. But Asencio, a U.S. citizen, somehow got back into the country seemingly undetected.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

PREVIOUS:

• Woman stabbed in Worcester restaurant sought help from police
• Man accused of murdering ex-girlfriend may have been tracking her location
• Parents of Webster victim focusing on her life, rather than her murder

Cox Media Group