Make-up artist attacked in knife fight; actor’s ex-boyfriend charged

Allie Shehorn arrived late to a film set and her colleagues were worried. It was not the 35-year-old makeup artist and producer’s style to miss her scheduled appointment and the actors wondered if she had gotten lost on the way to the filming location in the California high desert.

Her makeup artist credits include sci-fi films Rebel Moon, Family Switch and Babylon, but May 23 was her first day of shooting on an indie horror short film.

At some point, the crew learned that Shehorn was living her own horror story.

According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, she was stabbed multiple times in her Shadow Hills home just before 4:30 a.m. on May 23. Prosecutors allege that her ex-boyfriend, Nick Pasqual, broke into her home the morning of the shooting, attacked her with a knife and fled California. Pasqual was stopped by authorities at a border crossing in Sierra Blanca, Texas, prosecutors said.

Pasqual is expected to be extradited to Los Angeles to face charges of attempted murder, first-degree burglary of a dwelling in the presence of a person and battery on a spouse, domestic partner, fiancé, boyfriend, girlfriend or parent of a child. An arrest warrant was issued and the court set bail for his release at $1.07 million, court records show.

Days earlier, Shehorn had filed for a domestic violence restraining order against Pasqual. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge approved the restraining order, but it’s unclear whether Shehorn was able to serve it on Pasqual before the morning of the assault.

Christine White, Shehorn’s live-in girlfriend, found Shehorn lying in a pool of blood that morning. Friends believe Shehorn was stabbed more than 20 times.

“I just told her to keep her hand on her throat to stop the bleeding,” said White, who considers Shehorn a surrogate daughter.

Shehorn had to undergo emergency surgery and remained in intensive care for several days. Her friend and fellow makeup artist Jed Dornoff shared pictures 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. She was unable to move her fingers for several days.

“I’m sad that all this happened… He cut her hands and tendons,” Dornoff said of the injuries that could potentially prevent Shehorn from working as an artist. “Who does something like that?”

Makeup artist Allie Shehorn, right, with her friend Christine White.

(Courtesy of Jed Dornoff)

He is relieved that Pasqual has been charged, but the attack leaves him perplexed. Dornoff recalls when Shehorn first met Pasqual on the set of “Rebel Moon.” Her friends described Pasqual as an extra who had appeared in films such as “How I Met Your Mother” and “Archive 81.”

“She’s not used to being in the spotlight,” Dornoff said. “She’s going through this tragedy and now she’s getting so much attention.”

“It was pretty horrific,” actress and friend Tina Vonn said of the attack. She was among the cast members who waited for Shehorn during filming. At one point, Pasqual was part of the shoot but was removed after the restraining order was granted.

“Allie did everything right. She got a restraining order,” Vonn said.

The injunction related to one of several alleged previous attacks by Pasqual.

In her restraining order, Shehorn stated that Pasqual physically assaulted her at their shared Sun Valley home before May 23.

“He started yelling at me, which always happens when he is under the influence of alcohol,” Shehorn said in the restraining order.

Shehorn said in court documents that he punched her in the face as she tried to escape him and pulled her hair from behind, causing the back of her head to slam into the floor. She hid in her roommate’s bedroom, but Pasqual tried to break down the door and had broken down two other doors in the past, court documents say.

Shehorn said in the restraining order that when she unlocked the door, he slammed the door into her face, knocked her to the ground and repeatedly slammed the door into her head. She also claimed he sexually abused her and committed several other instances of physical violence earlier this year.

The court granted Shehorn’s request for a temporary restraining order and ordered Pasqual to stay at least 300 feet away from her, her vehicle, her home, her workplace, and her pet husky.

Throughout her Facebook page, Shehorn shared images of her work as a professional makeup artist and how she puts prosthetics on actors. She shared images of herself riding her horse Roy and her intricate chalk artwork on the sidewalk.

Despite her injuries, White is convinced that Shehorn will not give up her craft and her painting hobby.

“She said even if she couldn’t paint, she would paint with the brush in her mouth,” White said. “That’s how resilient she is. She’s just incredible.”