Michael Gledhill, 44, has been formally charged with one count of murder in the June 3 stabbing death of 81-year-old veteran actor James Handy. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed the charges, which include a special allegation that Gledhill personally used a knife during the attack outside a Tarzana residence. Prosecutors recommended setting bail at $2.02 million for the suspect.
During a scheduled arraignment on Friday, June 5, Gledhill did not enter a plea. Instead, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge John H. Reid ordered the suspect to a mental health court for psychological evaluations to determine his competency to stand trial, according to the arraignment hearing. Gledhill’s defense attorney, Javier Trincado, pointed out that the sheriff’s department opted not to bring his client into the courtroom for the proceeding.
Handy, recognized for a six-decade career featuring roles in films like Top Gun: Maverick and Jumanji, was found unresponsive with a chest wound in the front yard of the home he shared with his girlfriend, Wendy Gledhill. The suspect is Wendy’s son. Police initially responded to the scene after receiving a disturbing 911 call where the caller stated, “I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin.” When officers arrived, the younger Gledhill flagged them down and confessed to being the person they were looking for, shortly after the actor was stabbed to death on the property.
Wendy Gledhill told investigators her son was diagnosed with schizophrenia in July 2025 and had stopped taking his prescribed medication roughly a week before the fatal incident. If convicted as charged, Gledhill faces a maximum sentence of 26 years to life in state prison, as outlined in the official DA announcement. L.A. County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman publicly condemned the violence, stating that Handy “deserved to live out his later years enjoying what he had worked so hard for.”