Man charged with murder in actor James Handy’s stabbing

Michael Gledhill, the 44-year-old son of actor James Handy’s girlfriend, has been charged with murder after Handy was stabbed to death outside a home in Los Angeles’ Tarzana neighborhood, police and court records show.

Handy, 81, was found Wednesday morning in the front yard of a home on Erwin Street after Los Angeles police responded to a 911 call from someone who said they had killed a man. Officers arrived around 9:30 a.m. and found Handy suffering from stab wounds. He was taken to a local hospital, where he died.

Police said the 911 caller told dispatchers, “I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin.” CBS News reported the Los Angeles Police Department quoted the caller as saying, “I am the son of a man, I just killed the man of sin.”

Gledhill flagged down officers when they arrived, “telling them he was the one they were looking for,” police said. Investigators said he lived at the home with his mother. Police identified him as the son of Handy’s girlfriend.

Gledhill was arrested on suspicion of murder and taken to Van Nuys Jail. Court records reviewed Friday showed he had been charged with murder with a special allegation of use of a deadly weapon, NBC News reported. A special allegation can allow for a longer prison term if a defendant is convicted.

He was being held on $2 million bail Friday afternoon, according to jail records. Court records listed an unnamed deputy public defender as representing him and noted an arraignment and plea Friday morning, but did not specify what plea was entered, NBC News reported. Defendants typically plead not guilty at arraignment.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment about details of the case.

Gledhill’s mother, Wendy Gledhill, said Friday that the family had not yet obtained legal representation. She said she was overwhelmed by the killing.

“I loved James, this should have never happened to him. I’m sorry to his family and his friends,” she said in a statement.

Police described the stabbing as an isolated incident and said there appeared to be no danger to the public.

Handy was a veteran character actor whose film and television work spanned decades. He began his career in the 1970s with a role on the former ABC soap opera “Ryan’s Hope.” He later appeared in the 1981 film “Taps” with George C. Scott and in director Sidney Lumet’s 1982 courtroom drama “The Verdict,” starring Paul Newman.

His television credits included roles on “The West Wing,” “ER” and “Beverly Hills, 90210.” He was also known for appearances in “Arachnophobia” in 1990 and “Jumanji” in 1995. In 2022, he appeared as bartender Jimmy in “Top Gun: Maverick.”