Hollywood Actor Stars in His Own Trial

Malil says he thought he was under attack

On trial for attempted murder, Hollywood actor Shelley Malil testified on Monday about the night he stabbed his ex-girlfriend, Kendra Beebe, more than 20 times.

Malil testified he thought he was being attacked. On the witness stand, he demonstrated what he believes happened on August 10, 2008, the night he allegedly he tried to kill Beebe, after he walked in on her and another man having a glass of wine in her backyard.

"I was kind of like this," Malil said as he slashed his arm through the air. "It was kind of like that."

Malil said his hands were moving at a hundred miles per hour. Malil says he thought he was being attacked by the man and only later realized it was Beebe.

"My head was down and I was poking and swinging as hard as I can looking for space," Malil said.  "Like, empty space, I was tumbling, I kept running back into the fence and I kept moving with my arm and I kept bouncing into things."

During previous testimony, Malil said he went to Beebe's San Marcos home to apologize for taking personal items from her home and to warn her that he had emailed nude photos of her to her employees.

"It wasn't my intention of killing anybody or hurting anybody," Malil said.

When he walked into Beebe's backyard, he said he found her drinking wine with a male friend. 

"When I walked up to her to whisper in her ear, I stepped on her foot and she screams."

At that point, Malil said Beebe's friend got up, so Malil testified he grabbed a knife from the table, thinking he was going to be attacked.

He claims the male friend grabbed his arm and the two fought over the knife until it fell on the ground.

Malil ran into the kitchen and said he tried to call 911 but the phone was dead.  He claims he then grabbed a butcher knife to protect himself.  Moments later, he said he was attacked.

"Someone was hitting me with something, and all I had was this knife and I just went bananas with the thing, "Malil testified.  "And Kendra kept saying, "Ali call 911, and that was the first time I realized that it was Kendra that I was fighting with."


Malil's defense attorneys say that he was acting in self-defense and that he was attacked first. If convicted, Malil faces at least 21 years in prison.

The case could be in the hands of the jury as early as tomorrow.

Contact Us