A New Hampshire man was indicted on a murder charge Friday in the fatal stabbing of his ex-girlfriend in a Massachusetts restaurant back in July.
Carlos Asencio, 28, of Derry, was indicted Friday by a Worcester County grand jury on charges of murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
At a previous hearing back in August, Asencio was found not competent to stand trial and was sent to Bridgewater State Hospital for further evaluation. A not guilty plea was also entered on his behalf.
He had been at the facility since his arraignment in the July 3 stabbing death of 31-year-old Amanda Dabrowski, of Ayer, in O'Connor's Restaurant & Bar in Worcester, where she was attending a book club meeting.
The two had met while working at Bristol-Myers Squibb in Danvers and briefly dated.
On Friday, a Worcester County grand jury indicted Asencio on the murder charge as well as a charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. The district attorney didn't say when he will be arraigned in Worcester Superior Court.
Dabrowski was stabbed as she left the restroom, authorities said at the time.
More on the Deadly Worcester Stabbing
Asencio was arrested after he was detained in O'Connor's by patrons and staff, according to the Worcester County District Attorney's Office.
Asencio had previously been charged with breaking into Dabrowski's home in Ayer on April 21 and attacking her with a stun gun, officials have said. The pair were involved in a violent struggle in which Dabrowski used a broken vape pen, a bottle of alcohol and two kitchen knives to defend herself, eventually pushing Asencio out of a window despite being strangled, according to court documents.
A former neighbor told NBC10 Boston that the scene was horrific, with "blood on the doors."
Officers searching for Asencio learned he had fled into Canada and flown to Mexico. It is unclear when he returned to Massachusetts.
For the April attack, he was wanted on charges of breaking and entering in the nighttime to commit a felony, armed home invasion, assault with intent to murder, armed masked robbery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery on a household or family member.
The former neighbor, Octavia Kilpatrick, said Dabrowski had moved to Ayer from New Hampshire to get away from Asencio, then moved again after the April 21 attack.
"This popped up and I said, 'He found her!' That's all I could think of, 'He found her. Oh my God!'" Kilpatrick said after the attack.
Surveillance footage from the restaurant shows the attack: a man, allegedly Asencio, pacing through the restaurant in an attempt to locate Dabrowski. She was in the restroom when her attacker entered the eatery and the two encountered each other on a ramp that leads to an exit of the building.
The video allegedly shows Asencio "viciously stabbing" Dabrowski nearly 20 times, according to court documents. He allegedly had a long knife and a folding knife.
Prosecutors say Asencio will be arraigned in Worcester Superior Court at a later date.
Asencio's lawyer Robert Griffin says the court proceedings should wait at least until February, when he'll undergo another evaluation. He said Asencio remains committed at Bridgewater State Hospital.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
