Man convicted of stabbing girlfriend 15 times at Daly City Airbnb

(KRON) — A Bakersfield man pleaded no contest to attempted murder for stabbing his girlfriend over a dozen times at a Daly City Airbnb after she told him she was ending their relationship, the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.

Neil Alexander MacDonald, 27, of Bakersfield, was in a San Mateo County courtroom on Monday as a jury trial date was being confirmed in his case. Instead, MacDonald chose to take a deal from prosecutors and pleaded no contest to attempted premeditated murder with an enhancement for infliction of great bodily injury. In return, the 27-year-old will receive 14 years to life in prison. The DA’s office said it initially sought 17 years to life in the case.

MacDonald was arrested in Daly City on Aug. 21, 2021, after police responded to a 911 call from his girlfriend at the time. The couple, who had been dating for two years, were in a heated argument at an Airbnb when the girlfriend told MacDonald that she planned to break up with him, prosecutors said.

MacDonald grabbed a kitchen knife that was 8 to 10 inches in length, brought it to the bedroom and used it to cut at his throat while threatening to kill himself, according to the DA’s office. As officers arrived, MacDonald stabbed the victim in the chest.

“As she tried to crawl away, he repeatedly stabbed her in the back,” prosecutors wrote. Officers rushed to stop the attack, and the victim was transported to the hospital suffering from 15 stab wounds.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 14. MacDonald remains in custody on a $2 million bail.

MacDonald was previously convicted in 2010 for assault causing serious bodily injury.