Actor James Handy’s alleged killer found mentally incompetent for prosecution

Los Angeles — A judge found Monday that a man charged with murder in the stabbing of actor James Handy is not mentally competent for criminal court proceedings.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maria Cavalluzzi ruled that 44-year-old Michael Gledhill cannot understand the case against him and cannot rationally assist his lawyer in his own defense.

Handy, the 81-year-old actor whose credits include “Jumanji” and “Top Gun: Maverick,” was in a relationship with Gledhill’s mother and was found stabbed in the chest and lying unconscious outside her home on June 3, police and prosecutors said. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

“This is not how anyone’s life should end, stabbed in the chest and left dying in the front yard of a home,” L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said at the time. “The victim, James Handy, deserved to live out his later years enjoying what he had worked so hard for and enjoying it with those he loved and cared about.”   

Gledhill was arrested after telling police he was the person they were looking for. Officers had responded to the home after a 911 caller said, “I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin,” police said.

Gledhill has not entered a plea and has not appeared in court in the case. At his scheduled arraignment on June 5, a judge paused his prosecution and sent the case to a court that specializes in mental health evaluation.

That court ruled promptly after psychiatric evaluations that he was not competent. Cavalluzzi also found at a hearing Monday that Gledhill cannot make proper medication decisions. She signed an order saying he could be involuntarily medicated for one year, citing a psychiatrist’s determination that his mental health could be hugely helped by proper drugs.

She ordered him to appear in court on July 14 for a hearing on his long-term placement. His case will head to trial if he is later found to be competent.

Emails seeking comment from attorneys for both sides were not immediately answered.

Brian Delate, a longtime friend and fellow actor of Handy, told The Associated Press soon after Handy was killed that Gledhill’s mother had fixed up her garage so her son could live there. Handy had his own home, but spent much of his time there, his friend said. Delate said Handy had mentioned in passing that his girlfriend’s son had mental health problems.

Handy, a ubiquitous character actor, appeared in films and TV shows for decades.

He was known for his role as an exterminator in the 1995 film “Jumanji” and more recently as the bartender Jimmy in the 2022 film “Top Gun: Maverick.” He also appeared in many of TV’s top crime dramas, including “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “The Closer” and “Cold Case.”