SM reader Meenbeen tipped us off to a horrific crime story, earlier today:
Shelley Malil, an actor who played one of Steve Carell’s co-workers in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, has been arrested for investigation of attempted murder after his former girlfriend was critically injured when she was stabbed more than 20 times, authorities said Tuesday. [People]
Malil’s family, friends and lawyer persuaded the actor, who has also appeared on Scrubs, NYPD Blue, ER, Seinfeld and The West Wing to turn himself in.
Shelley Malil, 43, remained in custody on $2 million bail after he was taken into custody late Monday as he left a train in Oceanside, California, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said. His arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday…
Deputies found the victim Sunday night while responding to reports of screams for help and breaking glass in San Marcos, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) east of Oceanside. [fox]
According to both of the stories quoted above, Shelley Malil and the victim, 35-year old Kendra Beebe, had broken up recently, though TMZ states that neighbors thought they were still in a relationship; it’s difficult to nail down a time line of events, since some eye-witnesses saw the two going to the gym together the morning of the stabbing. A few articles also mention that Malil and Beebe took her children to the beach, the same weekend this occurred.
NBC 7 news reported (via video, so no quote) that Beebe’s two young children were at home, asleep, at the time of the attack, which occurred when Malil encountered Beebe in her backyard with a man with whom she was on a date. Sepia Mutiny: we dredge TMZ so you don’t have to…
According to Wikipedia, Malil was born in Kerala and came to the U.S. when he was ten years old, in 1974. WaPo has the quainter version of his backstory:
Shelley began pursuing his dream of entertaining people on the high school stage, where his leading turns often earned awards in district competitions in Texas, where his family settled after emigrating to the U.S. in 1974. As a child, he had dreams of becoming a comedic actor like Bob Hope, whom he first saw on a neighbor’s TV set, the only one in the fishing village on the southern tip of India. [WaPo]
That’s the background information for an online chat Malil did, in 2001, after gaining fame for playing “Chad” in the popular “What are YOU doing?” commercials for Budweiser (for which he won a Clio). It’s disconcerting to read the transcript now, and to find myself nodding in agreement with some of his responses…I keep self-reprimanding, “DUDE! You’re concurring with a savage, almost-murderer!!”
Here’s a YouTube clip of the award-winning ad, below:
Malil faces charges of attempted murder, mayhem and burglary. Beebe survived because a quick-thinking neighbor confronted her ex-boyfriend, and stopped the attack; investigators say that his actions saved the woman’s life.
…Charleton Lee, said he heard the commotion and came outside and found the two near the front door. He then said Malil eventually left the scene, and Lee put pressure on the woman’s wounds to slow the bleeding, as they waited for deputies and paramedics to arrive.
“Her chin was almost entirely cut off. She had a huge gash in her arm that looked like a really deep wound that was bleeding profusely,” Lee said. “She asked me to hold her and I could feel a lot of gashes in her back as well.”
The victim is in critical condition at Palomar Hospital, NBC 7/39 reported, but investigators believe she will survive her injuries. [NBC]
Thank goodness for neighbors like Mr. Lee (who, in the NBC video, modestly shrugged off the “hero”-label, saying he hoped it was what anyone would do).
