A 44-year-old man has been charged with murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of veteran Hollywood actor James Handy, according to prosecutors who filed the charges on Friday.
Michael Gledhill, who was taken into custody on Wednesday, could face up to 26 years behind bars if found guilty, officials with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced.
According to law enforcement, Gledhill approached police officers near the crime scene in Los Angeles’ Tarzana neighborhood on Wednesday and informed them he was the person they were seeking.
The incident began when authorities received an unusual 911 emergency call from a man who stated: “I am the son of man. I just killed the man of sin.”
When officers arrived at the scene, they discovered an 81-year-old man lying unconscious on the front yard of his girlfriend’s residence with a stab wound to his chest. Medical personnel later declared him dead at a local hospital, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Authorities noted that Gledhill resided at his mother’s residence.
The deceased was subsequently confirmed to be Handy, a well-known character actor who built an extensive filmography with supporting parts in “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” “Arachnophobia,” “Jumanji,” “Unbreakable” and “Logan.”
His most recent film role was portraying an elderly bartender named Jimmy in a establishment visited by military fighter pilots in the 2022 Tom Cruise blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick.”
Throughout his career spanning back to the 1970s, Handy made appearances in numerous television productions, frequently taking on roles as law enforcement officers or figures of authority.
Authorities characterized the incident as isolated but have not revealed any potential reasons behind the attack. Gledhill was scheduled for his initial court hearing on Friday, though it remained unclear if he had secured legal counsel.
This killing represents the second notable celebrity stabbing death in Los Angeles within a six-month period. In December, actor-director Rob Reiner and his wife, photographer-producer Michele Reiner, were killed at their Brentwood mansion. Their younger son, Nick Reiner, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder for their slayings.
