Police were told 13 chilling words down the phone after veteran actor James Handy was stabbed to death outside his Los Angeles home. The 81-year-old actor, best known for appearing in Top Gun: Maverick, was found brutally stabbed to death outside his home on Wednesday morning.
Police say they received a disturbing emergency call shortly before 9.30am from a man who told dispatchers: 'I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin.' Officers then rushed to Handy's home in the Erwin Street in Tarzana, where they found the 81-year-old unconscious in the front garden with a stab wound to his chest. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
44-year-old Michael Gledhill, the son of Handy's girlfriend, is accused of carrying out the attack. Police said Gledhill lived at the home with his mother, who was in a relationship with Handy. A statement from the LAPD confirmed the suspect flagged down nearby responding officers, telling them he was the one they were looking for.
Detectives are still working to determine a motive for the killing. Authorities believe the incident was isolated and have said there is no ongoing threat to the public. Gledhill is being held at Van Nuys Jail on a $2 million bail while the investigation continues. The police have also asked anyone with information to contact the LAPD Robbery-Homicide detectives.
A representative for the actor told Variety: 'With great sadness I can confirm that the gentleman who was attacked and killed on Wednesday in Tarzana was the actor James Handy.' Handy enjoyed a career spanning almost five decades, with credits in some of television's most recognisable shows, including The X-Files, The West Wing, NYPD Blue and Castle. In Top Gun: Maverick, he played Jimmy the Bartender.
