Trial set for actor accused in stabbing

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NORTH COUNTY COURTS — A Los Angeles actor accused of stabbing his former girlfriend more than 20 times will stand trial, a judge ruled at a preliminary hearing yesterday.

Shelley Malil, 44, of Sherman Oaks is charged with premeditated attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and residential burglary in the attack Aug. 10 at Kendra Beebe's home in San Marcos.

Malil, best known for a supporting role as Haziz in the film “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with a possibility of parole, if convicted. He remains in Vista jail on $3 million bail.

Dr. Thomas Velky testified yesterday that Beebe suffered 23 stab wounds. One just missed an artery in her throat and another caused her lung to collapse, Velky said.

Musician David Maldonado testified that he had arrived at Beebe's home about 8:30 p.m. About 15 minutes later, he said, Malil walked into Beebe's backyard and leaned in like he was hugging or kissing her.

“It was very immediate, and she started squirming and yelling for help,” Maldonado said.

Maldonado said he took a knife from Malil, cutting his own hand in the scuffle. He threw the knife over a fence, Maldonado said, and went inside to call 911. He didn't know the address, so he drove a few blocks to tell the operator the street names, Maldonado said.

A detective testified that the knife used in the attack had a label similar to those found in Malil's kitchen. Prosecutors allege that Malil obtained a second knife from Beebe's kitchen and continued the attack before neighbors Charlton Lee and Alexandra Baquero-Lee intervened on her front porch.

Baquero-Lee testified that she heard Beebe scream, “He's trying to kill me!” Baquero-Lee said her husband, Charlton Lee, asked Malil to drop the knife, and he did, and she went in the house to check on Beebe's two children.

Sandi Sharp, an investigator with the District Attorney's Office, testified that Beebe, who wasn't in court, said she had dated Malil off and on for about a year before the attack.