Top Gun: Maverick actor James Handy stabbed to death in Los Angeles as girlfriend’s son arrested
Michael Gledhill, the son of Mr Handy's girlfriend, was charged with the actor's murder on Friday
US actor James Handy, known for his roles in films including Jumanji and Top Gun: Maverick, has been stabbed to death at his home in Los Angeles.
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Michael Gledhill, 44, the son of Mr Handy's girlfriend, was arrested on suspicion of murder following his death, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
Mr Handy, 81, was found unconscious in the front garden of his home in Tarzana, California, on Wednesday with several stab wounds to the chest.
Police said officers were dispatched in answer to a cryptic emergency-911 call from a man who told operators: "I am the son of man. I just killed the man of sin."
Prosecutors filed murder charges on Friday against Gledhill.
If convicted, he faces up to 26 years in prison, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said.
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Responding officers found an 81-year-old man unconscious on the front lawn of his girlfriend's home with a stab wound to the chest.
He was pronounced dead shortly afterward at a nearby hospital, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
Gledhill, who lives at the property with his mother, told officers he was the person they were looking for, police added.
The victim was later identified as Mr Handy, a prolific character actor whose movie credits included supporting roles in Brighton Beach Memoirs, Arachnophobia, Jumanji, Unbreakable and Logan.
His last big-screen appearance was playing an older bartender named Jimmy in a bar frequented by military fighter pilots in the 2022 Tom Cruise hit Top Gun: Maverick.
Mr Handy also appeared in scores of television shows dating back to the 1970s, often portraying law enforcement characters or authority figures.
Confirming the actor's death, Mr Handy's agent, Pam Ellis-Evenas, said: "With great sadness I can confirm that the gentleman who was attacked and killed on Wednesday in Tarzana was the actor James Handy.
"I could not have asked for a more talented, humble or gracious client and friend than James Handy," she added.
Police described the killing as an isolated incident but offered no possible motive for the slaying.
The Handy killing marked the second high-profile celebrity stabbing death in Los Angeles in six months.
In December, actor-director Rob Reiner and his wife, photographer-producer Michele Reiner, were killed at their Brentwood mansion.
Their younger son, Nick Reiner, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder for their slayings.