“I can’t believe my son did it,” Wendy Gledhill reportedly said after the “Jumanji” actor was fatally stabbed on June 3.

James Handy’s girlfriend claims son is schizophrenic and stopped taking meds a week before actor’s murder

"I can't believe my son did it," Wendy Gledhill reportedly said after the "Jumanji" actor was fatally stabbed on June 3.

By Kathleen Perricone

June 5, 2026 7:51 p.m. ET

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Jamed Handy on 'NYPD Blue' in 1995. Credit:

ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

- James Handy's girlfriend, also the mother of his alleged killer, has broken her silence.

- Wendy Gledhill claims her son Michael, 44, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and stopped taking his medication a week before the actor's fatal stabbing.

- Michael Gledhill was arrested on June 3 and taken to jail, where he was booked for one count of murder.

More information is coming out about the suspect in James Handy's murder, the adult son of the 81-year-old actor's girlfriend.

Wendy Gledhill broke her silence on Friday, fighting back tears as she spoke to reporters outside her Los Angeles home. As she explained to TMZ, her 44-year-old son Michael was diagnosed with schizophrenia in July 2025 and had been taking his prescribed medication, but stopped about a week before the *Jumanji* actor was fatally stabbed on June 3.

"I'm just trying to make it through one day at a time, a minute at a time," Wendy, 76, told the *California Post*. “I loved James and my son. I still can't believe it… I can't believe my son did it."

James Handy in 'Jumanji' with Kirsten Dunst.

The Los Angeles Police Department has identified Michael Gledhill as the suspect in Handy's murder. He was taken into custody Wednesday morning after they said he "flagged down nearby responding officers, telling them he was the one they were looking for."

Gledhill was taken to Van Nuys Jail, where he was booked for one count of murder. His bail was set at $2 million.

According to the LAPD, the 911 caller stated: "I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin."

'Jumanji' actor James Handy made last public appearance 9 years before being fatally stabbed at 81

Suspect in James Handy's murder allegedly flagged down police to tell them 'he was the one they were looking for'

When they arrived at the home Wendy shared with Michael, they found 81-year-old Handy in the front yard "unconscious with a stab wound to his chest," LAPD said in a statement. "He was taken to a local hospital by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics, where he was pronounced dead."

Wendy acknowledged to TMZ that while Handy and Michael did not always see eye-to-eye, they did have a "cordial" relationship.

She also expressed a message for Handy's family. "They know I loved him so much," she said tearfully. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry this happened. I'm still in shock. I still can't comprehend it."

James Handy played a bartender in 'Top Gun: Maverick' with Tom Cruise.

Paramount Pictures

Neighbors of the Gledhills told the *California Post *that Michael exhibited odd behavior on their Tarzana, Calif., block.

"He looked really rugged… like he doesn’t really change his clothes,” claimed Joheina Quibol. She recalled an incident when Michael was acting "paranoid" and came over to her family's home to ask her father about their security cameras.

James Handy (second from right) and Ed Asner (second from left) at 2017 'Senior Entourage' screening.

Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

Handy's acting career dates back to 1977, when he appeared on two episodes of the soap opera *Ryan's Hope*. Over the following decades, he popped up on many of the most popular TV shows, including *Cagney and Lacey*, *Matlock*, *Alias,* *The West Wing*, *Melrose Place,* *NYPD Blue*, and *Walker, Texas Ranger*.

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In film, Handy shared the screen with Jeff Daniels in *Arachnophobia*, Kirsten Dunst in *Jumanji*, and most recently, Tom Cruise in *Top Gun: Maverick*.

Handy's last public appearance was in 2017 for a screening of *Senior Entourage*, a mockumentary comedy that also starred Ed Asner.

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