'40-Year-Old' Virgin Actor Receives Parole Following Attempted Murder Conviction

Shelley Malil, the 40-Year-Old Virgin actor who was sentenced to prison for the attempted murder of his girlfriend, was granted parole Tuesday after eight years in prison.

Malil, 53, sat before three parole commissioners during a hearing at Chuckawalla Valley State Prison in Riverside County, California, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune. The hearing was a follow-up to a January ruling that Malil should be paroled after an assessment said he had a low risk of committing another violent crime. The ruling was not approved by Gov. Jerry Brown, which led to another review of Malil's case.

After hearing comments from Malil and Kendra Beeebe, the woman Malil almost killed, the panel unanimously sided with the previous ruling. Malil will now be released in about two weeks, but will remain under supervised parole for five years.

Malil was convicted of premeditated murder and assault with a deadly weapon, and originally sentenced to 12 years to life in prison. In August 2008, Beebe was stabbed 23 times at her home in San Marcos. Her children were sleeping upstairs as Malil slashed her with a kitchen knife and broken glass, reports Fox News. Malil also tried to suffocate her with a pillow.

During the January hearing, Malil admitted he tried to "annihilate" Beebe and said jealousy and alcoholism were partly to blame for his actions. Since going to prison, he took self-help courses, earned a college degree and attended Alcoholics Anonymous sessions, Malil said.

"I am fully invested in my rehabilitation, and I never want to create another victim again," Malil said Tuesday.

Beebe and David Maldonado, a friend visiting Beebe when she was attacked, told the panel Tuesday they still feared for their lives.

"I relived this night hundreds of times," Beebe said, adding that Malil "calmly and methodically butchered me over and over. He's an actor by trade, and a liar by choice."

After the hearing, Beebe told the Union-Tribune she was "shocked" and "the system is broken."

"Today, these men had a chance to take real action showing that we, as a society, value women and will protect them," Beebe said of the panel. "For this I am sad... Because of their inaction, I will continue to live in fear."

"I'm so concerned that the three men on the prison board decided this was an OK thing in this day and age when we are collectively as a society standing up against violence, particularly against women and to all people," Beebe told TMZ. "Here was a chance for these three men to take action and say, 'Yes, we value our mothers, sisters and women in our society."

Malil played Haziz in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and appeared in Reba, Luis, JAG and Scrubs.

Photo credit: Jerod Harris/Getty Images