WORCESTER, Mass. — Carlos Asencio, who is accused of murdering ex-girlfriend Amanda Dabrowski inside O’Connor’s restaurant in 2019, was virtually arraigned today in Middlesex County Superior Court on charges related to an earlier attack on the Webster woman.
Asencio is facing 10 counts in connection with a home invasion in Ayer. That incident took place inside Dabrowski’s house just three months before her murder.
The charges include home invasion, armed assault, possession of a loaded firearm, and using body armor in a felony.
During today’s proceedings, state prosecutors alleged parts of a stun gun Asencio used that day were found at the home following the attack.
He’s accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend inside a Worcester restaurant. But as #25Investigates has reported, he allegedly attacked the same woman, Amanda Dabrowski, 3 months earlier. Carlos Asencio faced a judge, for the first time, on those charges. @boston25 at 4 pic.twitter.com/T5BViIsAGo
— Kerry Kavanaugh (@KerryKavanaugh) January 28, 2021
“Outside the home, police recovered a 380 caliber firearm as well as the stun gun. The stun gun was missing certain parts including the batteries and the battery cover. Those items were located inside the home as well as a round of 380 caliber ammunition,” said Middlesex Assistant District Attorney Christopher Tarrant.
Asencio pleaded not guilty to the home invasion charges. The presiding judge set his bail at $1 million.
25 Investigates has been following this story closely since Dabrowksi’s July 3, 2019 murder.
>> 25 Investigates: The Murder of Amanda Dabrowski
As anchor and investigative reporter Kerry Kavanaugh’s reported revealed, after that home invasion Asencio, a US citizen, fled to Canada and eventually landed in Mexico where he is believed to have stayed for several months. Following the April attack, a warrant for his arrest was issued. But somehow Asencio managed to get back into the US undetected and tracked down Dabrowski at the popular Worcester restaurant where she had been meeting friends attending a book club.
Asencio, a Derry, NH resident, is also facing charges of murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in Worcester Superior Court in connection with the July case.
He has also pleaded not guilty to those charges and is currently awaiting trial.
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