Shelley Malil had a busy career as a comic actor, appearing in a huge hit movie, several TV shows and a commercial that aired during the Super Bowl. But the actor best known for his part in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” has now been charged with attempted murder after his girlfriend was stabbed more than 20 times, authorities said.
Malil, 43, was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon in Vista, north of San Diego, said Paul Levikow, a spokesman for the San Diego County District Attorney’s office.
He remained in custody on $2 million bail after being charged with attempted murder with special circumstances of premeditation, causing great bodily injury and using a deadly weapon, said Deputy District Attorney Steven Carver. Malil faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted on all counts.
Authorities confirmed the victim’s identity as Kendra Beebe. According to her Facebook page, she is a 35-year-old mother of two who works as an insurance broker in Carlsbad, a coastal suburb.
She was listed in critical condition Monday, according to the San Diego Sheriff’s Department. Spokeswoman Jan Caldwell said Tuesday she had no update on Beebe’s condition.
Eve Salony, who lives across the street from Beebe, told the San Diego Union-Tribune that Beebe was having dinner with a date in her back yard on Sunday when Malil showed up and “got into the initial scuffle” with Beebe’s date. Salony said the date “got scared and he ran over here. He was bleeding.”
Chuck Lee, 32, who lives next door to Beebe, told the Union-Tribune that he was watching TV when he heard Beebe screaming and went to help.
Lee said he saw a man with a knife on Beebe’s front patio, restraining the woman.
“I kept telling him, ‘You don’t want to do this,”’ Lee said. He said the man kept saying, “Look at what she did to me.”
A woman who answered the phone at Beebe’s office declined to comment to The Associated Press.
Malil’s agent, Mark Measure, also declined to comment.
Malil starred in a Budweiser commercial that aired during the 2001 Super Bowl. He played a co-worker, Haziz, to comedian Steve Carell’s title character in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.”
The Associated Press called Malil’s partnership with Gerry Bednob in the movie one of the “Top 10 Overlooked Performances of 2005.”
He has also appeared in dozens of TV shows including “NYPD Blue” and “Scrubs.”
Malil, who lives in the Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles, had taken the train to Oceanside on Monday night to meet his attorney, who had joined the actor’s family members and friends in persuading him to turn himself in, deputies said.
Deputies found the victim on Sunday night while responding to reports of screams for help and breaking glass in San Marcos, about 15 miles east of Oceanside.
Attempts to identify and reach Malil’s attorney for comment were unsuccessful.