The Other Man

On August 10, Sherman Oaks—based 43-year-old character actor Shelley Malil, best known for a role in 2005’s 40-Year-Old Virgin, allegedly stabbed former girlfriend Kendra Beebe 20 times at her San Marcos home.

With her two children asleep upstairs, Beebe had been having dinner on her back patio with local flamenco guitarist David Maldonado. After Malil approached the patio uninvited and began stabbing her from behind, Maldonado was able to wrest the knife from Malil and throw it over a fence before he ran inside to call police. According to the North County Times, when Maldonado had to leave the house to determine the address, Malil obtained another knife from the kitchen and continued his attack on Beebe. Malil chased her onto her front porch but relented after a neighbor persuaded him to drop the knife.

On August 12, Malil was arrested at the Oceanside Amtrak train station. The next day, he pleaded not guilty to attempted-murder charges. Malil’s bail was set at $10 million, more than double what prosecutors had been asking for, in part because he was considered a flight risk, but also because the attack involved two victims.

Malil faces seven years to life for the crime. Both Maldonado and his spokesperson declined to comment for this story. Police reports indicate that Maldonado was injured during the scuffle, but if so, it wasn’t too serious.

Part of a musical family that includes brothers Luis and Hector, Maldonado has not missed any performances. Beebe remains hospitalized at Palomar Medical Center with injuries that include two punctured lungs and stab wounds to the throat. Meanwhile, Malil’s celebrity status has resulted in him being moved from out of the general inmate population at the Vista jail to a segregated unit of San Diego’s Central Jail. No trial date has been set.

– Bart Mendoza