Veteran character actor James Handy was likely choked into helplessness before his girlfriend's son stabbed him to death outside a Los Angeles home, according to a newly released autopsy report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's office.

Handy, 81, known for roles in "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Jumanji," died from a combination of a stab wound to the torso and neck compression. The medical examiner ruled the manner of death a homicide and stated that "it is possible the neck compression occurred prior to the infliction of the stab wound and may have incapacitated the decedent prior to the stabbing."

The suspect, Michael Gledhill, 44, is the son of Handy's longtime girlfriend, Wendy Gledhill. He was charged on June 5 with one count of murder with a special allegation that he personally used a deadly weapon, a knife. Bail was set at $2 million. If convicted, he faces up to 26 years in prison.

A killing in broad daylight

Authorities say an argument between Handy and Gledhill escalated into a physical fight at a home in the Tarzana neighborhood of Los Angeles. Gledhill allegedly mounted the 81-year-old actor, dragged him to the side of the residence, then went inside the home. He returned with what appeared to be a knife and allegedly stabbed Handy.

Officers found Handy stabbed in the chest and lying unconscious outside the home. He was taken to a hospital and later pronounced dead. The fatal stabbing occurred in broad daylight at a residence where Gledhill had been living in a converted garage.

The New York Post reported that Handy suffered choking injuries to his neck and multiple stab wounds to his torso during the June 3 attack, adding grim detail to the medical examiner's findings.

What happened next was chilling. Gledhill called 911 himself. On the call, he declared:

"I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin."

When officers arrived at the scene, Gledhill flagged them down and told them he was the person they were looking for. Police took Gledhill and the weapon into custody.

Mental health court and an absent defendant

At his arraignment on June 5, Gledhill did not appear. Superior Court Judge John H. Reid ordered Gledhill sent to mental health court and directed that he undergo psychological evaluations. Another judge will ultimately decide whether Gledhill is competent to stand trial.

Gledhill remained behind bars after the hearing.

The question of Gledhill's mental state looms over the case. Actor Brian Delate, who knew Handy for more than four decades, told The Associated Press that Handy had mentioned a few times over the past couple of years that his girlfriend's son had mental health problems. Delate said he hadn't taken it as an alarm:

"I didn't think much of it, because he just kind of mentioned it casually."

Wendy Gledhill had fixed up the garage at her home so her son could live there, Delate said. Handy, meanwhile, had his own home. The precise living arrangement, whether Handy was staying at Wendy's residence at the time of the attack or visiting, remains unclear from available reporting.

An 81-year-old man left defenseless

The autopsy findings sharpen the picture of what Handy endured. An 81-year-old man, overpowered by a suspect nearly four decades younger, was apparently choked before he could fight back or flee. Then he was stabbed. The medical examiner's language, "may have incapacitated the decedent prior to the stabbing", suggests Handy may have been unable to defend himself by the time the knife was used.

LA County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman addressed the case directly. AP News reported Hochman saying:

"This is not how anyone's life should end, stabbed in the chest and left dying in the front yard of a home."

Jeff Hawks, a friend of Handy's, told the AP he was baffled by the violence. "I can't imagine who would ever have a beef with him. To me, it's impossible. He was just really a decent guy," Hawks said.

Wendy Gledhill, caught between grief for her longtime partner and horror at her son's alleged actions, told the New York Post: "I loved James and my son. I still can't believe it... I can't believe my son did it."

A career cut short

Handy, born in New York, built a long career as a working character actor, the kind of face audiences recognize even when they can't place the name. He played the exterminator in the 1995 film "Jumanji" and bartender Jimmy in the 2022 blockbuster "Top Gun: Maverick." His television credits included "NCIS: Los Angeles," "The Closer," "Cold Case," "NYPD Blue," and "CSI: NY."

In an era when violent crimes involving public figures seem to surface with disturbing regularity, Handy's death stands out for its domestic setting and the warning signs that apparently went unheeded.

Delate's account is telling. Handy mentioned his girlfriend's son had mental health issues, not once, but multiple times over two years. Yet nothing appears to have been done to separate a vulnerable elderly man from a potentially dangerous individual living on the same property. Whether that failure belongs to the family, to the mental health system, or to some combination remains an open question the courts may never fully answer.

What comes next

The case now turns on Gledhill's competency. Psychological evaluations ordered by Judge Reid will determine whether he can stand trial. If found incompetent, the murder charge doesn't disappear, but the timeline stretches and the path to accountability grows longer and less certain.

The pattern is familiar. Stabbing deaths that provoke outrage often lead to court proceedings where mental health evaluations delay justice for months or years. Victims' families wait. The public forgets. And the hard questions about why a known risk was left unaddressed never get a satisfying answer.

Gledhill's 911 confession, grandiose, detached, self-mythologizing, tells you something about his mental state. But it also tells you something the system should have recognized long before an 81-year-old man was choked and stabbed outside his girlfriend's home.

James Handy spent decades bringing characters to life on screen. He deserved better than to die at the hands of someone everyone around him knew was troubled, and no one stopped.