Michael Gledhill, charged with the fatal stabbing of actor James Handy, has been declared mentally unfit to face trial.
During a competency hearing on June 22, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maria Cavalluzzi determined that the 44-year-old could not grasp the proceedings against him nor contribute to his own defense, as reported by The Associated Press.
Confirmation from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office to Oxygen further verified that Gledhill was found unfit to stand trial at this hearing.
Facing a murder charge, Gledhill is alleged to have wielded a deadly weapon in the attack on James, who was found with a chest stab wound outside a house in Tarzana on June 3, as outlined in a statement from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
According to People, Michael, who is the son of James’ girlfriend Wendy Gledhill, was absent from the hearing because his lawyers relayed that he refused transport.
A court specializing in mental health evaluation concluded after reviewing Michael’s psychiatric evaluations that he was not competent. Cavalluzzi relied on that determination while making her ruling, while also deciding that Michael was not able to make proper medication decisions, per the AP.
As a result, she signed an order that would allow Michael to be involuntarily medicated for up to one year in an effort to restore his competency.
If his competency is later restored, the criminal case against him could proceed.
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Michael’s mother Wendy told The Daily Mail that James—her boyfriend of 31 years—got up the morning of June 3 and went outside to get the paper, but never returned.
“I can only assume,” she told the outlet, “my son was already out there and they started to argue, from my understanding, on the front yard.”
Though Wendy was still in bed and unaware of the trouble outside, Los Angeles Police said they arrived at the scene around 9:30 a.m. after receiving a 911 call in which the caller stated, “I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin.”
Police said James—known for his roles in Top Gun: Maverick, Arachnophobia and Jumanji—was found laying in the front yard of the home “unconscious and suffering from a stab wound to his chest.” He later died at a local hospital.
“This is not how anyone’s life should end, stabbed in the chest and left dying in the front yard of a home,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman remarked in the statement from prosecutors. “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. Like all murder victims, his life mattered and the person who inexplicably and violently took it must be held accountable for his actions.”
Michael was taken into custody after he flagged down responding officers and told them he was the person they were looking for, police said.
According to prosecutors, he had been living at the home with his mother at the time of the incident.
Wendy told TMZ that her son had allegedly been diagnosed with schizophrenia about a year before James’ death and she thought he had stopped taking his medication about a week before the killing.
“I’m so sorry this happened,” she said. “I’m still in shock. I still can’t comprehend it.”
Michael—who has yet to enter a plea to the charges against him—is expected to appear in court on July 14 to determine his long-term placement, the AP reported.