“The 40-Year-Old Virgin” actor Shelley Malil has been granted parole after he was convicted of attempted murder in 2010.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Malil appeared before a panel of parole commissioners in Riverside County on Tuesday. The panel was set to revisit a previous ruling that the 45-year-old actor should be paroled due to him being at low risk of committing violence again in the future. Gov. Jerry Brown had spoken out against the decision, arguing that there still was no explanation as to why Malil’s “rage escalated so far out of control, and resulted in such a prolonged horror.”
Malil was found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon in 2010 and convicted of attempted murder for repeatedly stabbing his girlfriend at her San Marcos home. The attack, which occurred in August 2008, left Kendra Beebe with 23 deep stab wounds and chunks of her skin on her chin “nearly sliced off,” scars of which she still sees today, she’s said.
According to the San Diego Union Tribune, Beebe was at home with a friend when Malil stabbed her in the torso. Initially, Malil said the attack had been self-defense, but he admitted during a hearing in January that he had grabbed a knife and driven from his home to San Marcos with intent to “annihilate” Beebe after he had felt slighted by her the previous day. According to the outlet, the actor slashed at Beebe with a broken wine glass and also tried to smother her with a pillow.
He was sentenced to 12 years to life in prison. Malil will be released in two weeks and will remain on supervised parole for five years. The Union Tribune reported that Malil told the panel that he takes “full responsibility for everything I did” and that the attack was “infinitely inexcusable — and I am sorry.”
After the hearing, the outlet received a text message from Beebe, in which she said she was “shocked” about the decision.
“Today, these men had a chance to take real action showing that we, as a society, value women and will protect them,” Beebe said. “For this I am sad. Because of their inaction, I will continue to live in fear.”