A juror in a high-profile attempted murder trial involving a Hollywood actor now says she was wrong to think the victim, an ex-girlfriend stabbed more than 20 times, was a victim of karma.
On Sept. 16, jurors found actor Shelley Malil guilty of premeditated attempted murder.
Malil, who appeared in the "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," faces prison time for stabbing his former girlfriend Kendra Beebe 23 times in the back yard of her San Marcos home on Aug.10, 2008.
Just hours before the verdict a juror had to be replaced after writing a note to the judge.
In it, the unidentified female juror said she can't be "fair and impartial" because she believes in karma, and that "the victim deserved this because of her immoral lifestyle."
The juror who wrote that note, a 20-year old university student, talked with our media partners the North County Times. The woman now says she was wrong to use that phrase.
"Nobody 'deserved' that," the ex-juror told the paper. "That word is haunting me."
"My train of thought was not the right one for a juror," the ex-juror said. "As much as I tried to push it off, it kept creeping in the back of my mind. ... I was honest and I did the right thing."
The woman spoke with the paper on the condition of anonymity. You can read more of the interview in the full article.
Malil was also convicted of assault with a deadly weapon, but acquitted of burglary charges.
The actor, who played a co-worker, Haziz, to comedian Steve Carell's title character in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," testified during the trial that he was protecting himself after he was attacked.
He faces 16 years to life in prison when he sentenced on November 18.
