How I Met Your Mother star Nick Pasqual has been sentenced after being found guilty of attempted murder after attacking his ex-girlfriend (Picture: Araldo Di Crollalanza/Shutterstock)
Former How I Met Your Mother actor Nick Pasqual has been sentenced to 32 years to life in prison after brutally attacking his estranged girlfriend in a case that shocked Hollywood.
The 36-year-old actor was sentenced on Tuesday following his conviction for attempted murder, rape, burglary, and domestic violence offences connected to the 2024 attack on makeup artist Allie Shehorn.
According to prosecutors, Pasqual broke into Shehorn’s California home in May 2024 and stabbed her more than 20 times before fleeing the scene and attempting to escape to Mexico.
Shehorn miraculously survived the ordeal and testified against him.
During the trial, the makeup artist — who has worked on films including Babylon, Mean Girls, and Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire — gave harrowing testimony describing the attack while visibly bearing scars on her neck and arms.
‘I locked the door, and he just started punching holes in that door and broke that open,’ she told the court. ‘I just ran into the bathroom because I thought there’s another lock on that door.’
Pasqual appeared in How I Met Your Mother in season 7 of the hit show (Picture: CBS)
Authorities later arrested Pasqual at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in Texas shortly after the stabbing.
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman praised Shehorn’s testimony following the sentencing, calling her courage instrumental in securing the conviction.
‘Today’s 32 years to life sentence holds Nick Pasqual accountable for the horrific crimes he committed against someone who once loved and trusted him,’ he said.
‘Allie Shehorn miraculously survived and courageously stood before her abuser in court to testify about the brutality she endured.’
The verdict was handed down to him in court in May (Picture: KABC)
He added that her victim impact statement delivered during sentencing was ‘powerful’.
Pasqual, meanwhile, released a statement through representatives to Entertainment Weekly insisting he remains focused on ‘sobriety, recovery, accountability, and a respectful appellate process moving forward’.
‘I remain deeply saddened by everything surrounding this case, and I continue to wish healing and peace for everyone affected,’ he said.
The actor is currently appealing the ruling.
The makeup artist was found by her roommate and admitted into the ICU (Picture: GoFundMe)
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The case drew widespread attention not only because of Pasqual’s acting credits, but due to the horrifying details surrounding the assault.
Prior to the stabbing, Shehorn had reportedly already obtained a restraining order against Pasqual following earlier alleged incidents of abuse, including claims he assaulted her with a belt and sexually assaulted her months before the attack.
After the stabbing, friends launched aGoFundMe campaign to help cover Shehorn’s medical bills while she recovered from catastrophic injuries that reportedly required breathing tubes and feeding tubes during her hospitalisation.
Shehorn shared a powerful testimony about the attack in court (Picture: GoFundMe)
In 2024, Shehorn told the Daily Mail: ‘I just hope that there’s justice served. People should know that this shouldn’t happen, and he can’t get away with it,’ vowing to attend every court hearing.
In the interview, she added that she was ‘dealing with permanent damage’ after the attack and ‘can’t go back completely to how I was’. At the time, she shared her hopes of returning to her profession despite injuries to her hands and vision.
‘That’s the goal. I still don’t have feeling back in my hands and partial vision loss that I can’t get back.’
Pasqual’s acting career largely consisted of smaller television and film roles, including appearances in How I Met Your Mother, Jobs and Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire.
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