A 44-year-old man accused of fatally stabbing veteran actor James Handy will have to wait to face murder charges as he must now undergo a mental competency evaluation before his case moves forward, a Los Angeles judge ruled.
Michael Ray Gledhill is facing one count of murder in the killing of the 81-year-old “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Jumanji” actor, who was also the boyfriend of Gledhill’s mother.
Prosecutors in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office also filed a special allegation that Gledhill personally used a knife during the deadly attack.
The violent incident unfolded on Wednesday, outside a home in the 19200 block of Erwin Street in Tarzana, where Los Angeles Police Department officers responded to reports of a stabbing.
When they arrived, they found Handy in the front yard suffering from multiple stab wounds.
He was rushed to a nearby hospital but was later pronounced dead.
Gledhill is accused of making chilling statements during a 911 call placed after the stabbing.
According to the complaint, he said: “I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin.”
Before the murder charge could proceed, a judge ordered a mental competency hearing scheduled for June 22 in a Hollywood court to determine Gledhill’s ability to understand the proceedings.
Despite the competency review, prosecutors have formally accused Gledhill of murdering Handy “with malice aforethought,” in violation of Penal Code section 187(a).
If convicted, he faces 26 years to life in state prison. Authorities are also seeking bail set at $2.02 million.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman condemned the killing, saying, “This is not how anyone’s life should end, stabbed in the chest and left dying in the front yard of a home,” and added that 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.” The investigation remains ongoing.
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