The man suspected of stabbing Top Gun: Maverick actor James Handy to death earlier this week will have to face a mental competency hearing before murder charges can be pursued.
The capacities of Michael Ray Gledhill will be examined in a Hollywood court June 22, a state judge decided Friday, after the Los Angeles County District Attorney filed a felony complaint against the middle-age son of Handy’s girlfriend.
“On or about June 3, 2026, in the County of Los Angeles, the crime of Murder, in violation of Penal Code section 187(a), a Felony, was committed by Michael Ray Gledhill, who did unlawfully, and with malice aforethought murder James Anthony Handy, a human being,” asserted the filing by DA Nathan Hochman‘s office today.
The charge carries a sentence of 26 years to life for 44-year-old Gledhill if he is found guilty. He is currently behind bars on bail of $2.02 million.
Handy, 81, was bludgeoned outside a Tarzana home on Wednesday morning. Found by LAPD in the residence’s front yard unconscious and with chest wounds, Handy was transported by ambulance to a local hospital soon after 9:30 a.m. He was pronounced dead on arrival.
On the 911 call to authorities alerting them to Handy’s stabbing, Gledhill can be heard saying “I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin.”
“This is not how anyone’s life should end, stabbed in the chest and left dying in the front yard of a home,” Hochman said Friday after the charges were filed and before the arraignment that saw criminal proceedings paused over mental health concerns.
“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,” Hochman added. “Like all murder victims, his life mattered and the person who inexplicably and violently took it must be held accountable for his actions.”
Glenhill actually ID’d himself to officers on the scene, according to the cops themselves. “The suspect flagged down nearby responding officers, telling them he as the one they were looking for,” a LAPD statement says. “The suspect resides at the location with his mother, who is the victim’s girlfriend.
Journeyman thespian Handy had around 100 credits including a presence in the highflying 2022 Tom Cruise sequel Top Gun: Maverick; in TV on Alias, The X-Files, Walker Texas Ranger, Law & Order; and other flicks like 2017’s X-Men spinoff Logan.
