Overview
- Authorities found 81‑year‑old actor James Handy unconscious with a stab wound in the front yard of a Tarzana home on Wednesday, June 3, and he was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
- The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner on June 12 ruled Handy’s manner of death a homicide and listed the cause as a stab wound to the torso combined with neck compression.
- Forty‑four‑year‑old Michael Gledhill, the son of Handy’s longtime partner, was arrested at the scene after flagging down officers, charged with one count of murder and held on $2 million bail.
- Los Angeles Superior Court ordered psychiatric evaluations and signaled possible transfer to mental‑health court, with a scheduled hearing on June 22 to address competency and next steps.
- Gledhill’s mother has told media he has schizophrenia and stopped taking medication before the killing but those claims are reported by family and not yet confirmed by police or court records, and investigators continue to gather evidence including reported security footage.