Overview
- Los Angeles police say they responded to a 911 call on June 3 and found 81-year-old character actor James Handy unconscious on his Tarzana front lawn with a stab wound to the chest; he was taken to a hospital and later pronounced dead.
- Michael Gledhill, 44, was arrested at the scene after flagging down officers, has been booked on one count of murder with a special weapon allegation, and is being held on $2 million bail pending a June 22 court appearance.
- Authorities released that the 911 caller told dispatchers, "I am the son of man. I just killed the man of sin," a statement that led officers to identify and arrest Gledhill at the scene.
- Handy’s partner, Wendy Gledhill, told multiple outlets that Handy left the house to get the paper before the attack and that her son was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2025 and reportedly stopped taking medication about a week before the killing, a claim not independently confirmed by police.
- Los Angeles prosecutors say they are pursuing a murder charge that carries decades in prison if convicted while the court has ordered psychiatric exams and will consider mental-health court as the case moves through pretrial proceedings.