Actor Nick Pasqual arrested at border in brutal stabbing of makeup artist, charged with attempted murder
Allie Shehorn was late to a movie set and her fellow cast members were worried. It was unlike the 35-year-old makeup artist and producer to miss her call time, and the cast wondered if she got lost on the way to the location out in the California high desert.
Her credits as a makeup artist include the sci-fi movie "Rebel Moon," "Family Switch" and "Babylon," but on May 23 she was set to meet for the first day of shooting on an indie short horror film.
Eventually, the crew would learn that Shehorn was going through her own horror story.
She was repeatedly stabbed in her Shadow Hills home just before 4:30 a.m. on May 23, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. Prosecutors allege that her ex-boyfriend Nick Pasqual broke into her home, attacked her with a knife and fled California on the morning of the film shoot. Pasqual was stopped by authorities at a border checkpoint in Sierra Blanca, Texas, the district attorney's office said.
Pasqual is set to be extradited to Los Angeles, where he faces charges of attempted murder, first-degree residential burglary with person present and one count of injuring a spouse, cohabitant, fiancé, boyfriend, girlfriend or child’s parent. An arrest warrant was issued and the court imposed a $1.07-million bond for his release, according to court records.
Days earlier, Shehorn filed a restraining order against Pasqual for domestic abuse. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge approved the restraining order, but it's unclear if Shehorn was able to serve it to Pasqual before the morning of the attack.
Christine White, Shehorn's friend who was living with her, found Shehorn lying in a pool of blood that morning. Friends believe Shehorn was stabbed more than 20 times.
Read more: Jealousy of porn actor led to murder attempt with golf club, LAPD says
"I just told her to keep her hand on her throat to stop the bleeding," said White, who considers Shehorn a surrogate daughter.
Shehorn underwent emergency surgery and remained in the ICU for several days. Her friend and fellow makeup artist Jed Dornoff shared images of Shehorn in the hospital on a GoFundMe campaign set up to help pay for her medical expenses. In the photos, her hands are bandaged. For several days she was unable to move her fingers.
"I'm sad that all of this happened... He cut her hands and tendons," Dornoff said about the injuries that could possibly hinder Shehorn's ability to work as an artist. "Who does that?"
He's relieved Pasqual was charged, but is baffled by the attack. Dornoff remembers when Shehorn first met Pasqual on the set of "Rebel Moon." Her friends described Pasqual as a background actor, whose film credits include "How I Met Your Mother" and "Archive 81."
"She's not used to being in the spotlight," Dornoff said. "She's undergoing this tragedy and now she just has so much attention paid to her."
"It was pretty horrific," actor and friend Tina Vonn said about the attack. She was among the cast waiting for Shehorn at the film shoot. At one point, Pasqual was part of the film shoot, but he was removed after the restraining order was filed.
"Allie did everything the right way. She got a restraining order," Vonn said.
The restraining order described one of several alleged previous attacks by Pasqual.
In her restraining order, Shehorn said Pasqual physically attacked her in the home they shared in Sun Valley prior to May 23.
"He started yelling and screaming at me, which happens when he's been under the influence," Shehorn said in the restraining order.
Read more: Orange County convicted killer who ditched halfway house is rearrested in Mexico
Shehorn said in the court document that he slapped her across the face as she was trying to get away from him and pulled her hair from behind and she slammed the back of her head onto the floor. She hid in her roommate's bedroom, but Pasqual tried to break down the door and had broken two other doors in the past, according to the court documents.
Shehorn said in the restraining order that when she unlocked the door he slammed it into her, knocking her to the ground, and repeatedly slammed the door into her head. She also alleged he sexually assaulted her and committed several other instances of physical violence earlier in the year.
The court granted Shehorn's restraining order request, mandating that Pasqual stay at least 300 feet away from her, her vehicle, her home, workplace and her pet Husky.
Throughout her Facebook page, Shehorn shared images of her work as a professional makeup artist and her applying prosthetic features to actors. She shared images of herself riding her horse, Roy, and her intricate sidewalk chalk art.
Despite her injuries, White is convinced that Shehorn will not give up on her craft or her painting hobby.
"She said that even if she couldn't paint, she would paint with her brush in her mouth," White said. "That's how resilient she is. She's just so amazing."
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
