James Handy’s girlfriend Wendy Gledhill said she was in disbelief that her son Michael Gledhill allegedly fatally stabbed the “Top Gun: Maverick” actor.
“I’m just trying to get through the day, one minute at a time,” Wendy, 76, told the California Post on Friday outside her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Tarzana.
Wendy added: “I love James and my son” and said she “can’t believe” that Michael allegedly killed Handy.
“I’m just trying to…” she added before stepping inside.
One of Wendy and Michael’s neighbors told the California Post that Wendy, 44, sometimes acted strangely and paranoid.
“He looked really rugged…he didn’t seem to be changing his clothes very much,” neighbor Joheina Kibor said.
Ms. Kibor said she believed Michael suffered from mental health issues and claimed that Michael once came to her home and asked her father about the cameras that were installed inside the house.
She described Michael’s behavior during the alleged incident as “paranoid”.
Wendy told TMZ on Friday that Michael suffers from serious mental health issues and was diagnosed with schizophrenia, but has stopped taking his medication.
She claimed her son became increasingly paranoid after he was diagnosed with schizophrenia in July 2025 and was prescribed medication, but she said she learned her son had stopped taking his medication a week before Handy’s murder.
Wendy said Michael and Handy had a “generally friendly” relationship, although they “didn’t always see eye to eye”.
In a tearful message to Handy’s family, Wendy said: “They know I loved him very much. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry this happened. I’m still in shock. I still don’t understand.”
Los Angeles police said Handy was stabbed repeatedly in the chest by Michael at their Gledhill home in Tarzana on Wednesday morning.
When police arrived on scene, they found Handy unconscious and bleeding in the front yard of the home.
Police said the man was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Michael is named the prime suspect in the attack.
In a chilling 911 call, Michael told dispatchers, “I am a son of man and I just killed a man who committed a crime.”
Before his arrest, a neighbor’s doorbell camera captured Michael leaving the house where Handy was murdered.
Police said Michael alerted officers when they arrived and told them he had stabbed Handy.
Michael was charged with one count of murder. He is being held at the Van Nuys Jail, with bail reportedly set at $2 million.
Handy made his acting debut in 1997 and went on to appear in more than 150 projects, including numerous television shows such as “NYPD Blue,” “Castle,” “Beverly Hills, 90210,” “The West Wing,” and “The Practice.”
His last role was in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick, where he played Jimmy, a bartender working for Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, played by Tom Cruise.
He also appeared in the movies “Jumanji,” “Logan,” and “Unbreakable.”
