'How I Met Your Mother' actor gets 32-year sentence after stabbing ex 20 times
Nick Pasqual has been sentenced to at least 32 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of stabbing and sexually assaulting his ex-girlfriend.
Actor Nick Pasqual has been sentenced to at least 32 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of attempted murder after stabbing and sexually assaulting his ex-girlfriend.
The "How I Met Your Mother" alum was convicted in May on all six counts, including one count of attempted murder, with findings that he used a deadly weapon during a domestic violence incident. The other counts include one count of forcible rape; three felony counts of injuring a spouse, fiancée or partner; and one count of felony first-degree burglary with a person in the home, according to Los Angeles criminal records.
At his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, June 2, Pasqual was given a 32-year-to-life sentence. His convicted crimes span from January 2024 to May 23, 2024, when Pasqual broke into the home of makeup artist Allie Shehorn in LA around 4:30 a.m. and stabbed her over 20 times.
Shehorn was hospitalized and underwent multiple surgeries for her critical injuries, including procedures to repair severed tendons in her right arm and to close wounds in her neck, according to a GoFundMe page launched at the time.
"Allie Shehorn miraculously survived and courageously stood before her abuser in court to testify about the brutality she endured," District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in a statement shared with USA TODAY. "Her trial testimony was crucial in securing a guilty verdict so Mr. Pasqual could no longer be free to hurt anyone else."
Hochman said Pasqual's case highlights the "painful reality that domestic violence thrives when its victims live in fear and stay silent." He thanked prosecutors for allowing survivors to be heard and proving that "accountability is more than a promise, it's a reality."
Pasqual's legal representatives declined USA TODAY's request for comment.
Nick Pasqual detained at U.S.-Mexico border after fleeing state
After fleeing California, Pasqual was later detained at the U.S.-Mexico border checkpoint in Sierra Blanca, Texas, and extradited to LA, Hochman's office previously confirmed.
He pleaded not guilty last March. After a two-week trial, the jury deliberated for an hour and a half before reaching a verdict.
The actor, in addition to his small part as Ted's student Will in the "How I Met Your Mother" Season 7 episode "Field Trip," also had uncredited roles in Zach Snyder's "Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire" and the Steve Jobs biopic "Jobs," and he starred in the 2009 Mischa Barton film "Homecoming."
Contributing: Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY