Comic actor Shelley Malil, most remembered for his role in the hit movie ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin,’ was convicted of attempted murder on September 16, PEOPLE is reporting. He stabbed his girlfrined Kendra Beebe more than 20 times for talking to another man, musician David Maldonado, at her San marcos home. The verdict was read by a San Diego Superior Court jury in Vista, California.

During the trial, Malil testified that he stabbed Beebe in 2008 because he thought she was someone else attacking him in the dark. Beebe testified that during their on-again, off-again one year relationship, he was volatile, jealous and possessive. Malil’s public defender said he acted in the heat of passion, and should have been found guilty of attempted voluntary manslaughter instead of premeditated attempted murder. The actor will be sentenced on November 18, and faces 21 years to life in prison.

Written by: Karen Benardello