A California jury has found actor Nick Pasqual guilty of attempting to murder his estranged girlfriend Allie Shehorn in a brutal attack that left the Hollywood makeup artist fighting for her life and permanently scarred.
Pasqual, 36, who has appeared on TV shows including How I Met Your Mother, was convicted Friday of attempted murder, first-degree residential burglary with person present and injuring a spouse, cohabitant, fiancé, boyfriend, girlfriend or child’s parent, according to court records.
Prosecutors said Pasqual broke into Shehorn’s Sunland, California, home around 4:30 a.m. on May 23, 2024, and stabbed her more than 20 times before fleeing the state. He was arrested a week later at a U.S.-Mexico border checkpoint in Sierra Blanca, Texas.
Shehorn, 37, appeared in court at the San Fernando Courthouse with visible scars on her neck and arms as she recounted the alleged abuse that she said happened prior to the stabbing.
“I locked the door and he just started punching holes in that door and broke that open,” she told the court, according to ABC7. “I just ran into the bathroom because I thought there’s another lock on that door.”
There were several reports of abuse prior to the attack, authorities said. Days before the attack, Shehorn had filed a restraining order against Pasqual, accusing him of prior abuse that allegedly included choking, rape, breaking down doors and assaulting her with a belt.
On May 18, 2024, Pasqual was arrested on a felony domestic violence-related charge against Shehorn, and booked into a Los Angeles jail, but was released on a $50,000 bond about five hours later, PEOPLE reported.
Just five days later, Pasqual went after Shehorn, police said.
According to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, Pasqual “inflicted great bodily injury upon the victim under circumstances involving domestic violence” and “personally used a knife during the commission of the crime.”
Shehorn, who had been stabbed at least 20 times, was discovered by a family member and rushed to a hospital in critical condition. She underwent 14 hours of life-saving and reconstructive surgeries and spent nearly a week in intensive care after suffering deep cuts to her neck, arms and abdomen.
Before the attack, Shehorn had built a successful career in Hollywood makeup artistry, earning Best SFX Makeup at the Hollywood Blood Horror Festival for her work on Incorrigible. Her credits also include Babylon, Mean Girls and Rebel Moon.
She has since returned to the industry and has nine credits since 2025 including Rainn Wilson’s action-comedy Code 3, The New York Post reported.
A GoFundMe created to help with hospital bills detailed her recovery journey.
“Allie Shehorn is making positive steps to her recovery,” friend Steven Dornoff wrote in an update on GoFundMe in May 2024. “It’s still a very long road but she is facing it with courage and determination.”
In a later update, he added: “Allie has an awesome group of family and friends who have helped house her, transport her and give the tlc she’s needed. The main thing is she has been kept safe and happy, which accounts for her awesome healing.”
