James Handy, an actor from Top Gun: Maverick, died after a medical examiner ruled his death was caused by a stab wound to the torso and neck compression. Authorities say he was attacked inside his Los Angeles home on June 3, and prosecutors later charged Micha
James Handy didn’t just die after a knife attack—his death was also tied to “neck compression,” a medical finding that added a second, brutal detail to the circumstances authorities say unfolded at his Los Angeles home.
The Los Angeles Medical Examiner ruled that Handy was killed by a stab wound to the torso and neck compression. The examiner described neck compression as a condition where the spinal cord or the nerve roots of the neck are squeezed or put under abnormal pressure.
Handy was 81. Authorities said he was allegedly attacked with a knife by his girlfriend’s son, Michael Gledhill, inside Handy’s L.A. home on June 3. Police later found Handy seriously wounded in his front yard and transported him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Gledhill allegedly walked away from the crime scene and was caught on Ring camera footage. That footage—obtained by TMZ—showed him casually passing by a neighbor’s house. He didn’t get far. Police officers quickly arrested him after heading back to the house, also on video.
After the arrest, the Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman charged Gledhill with one count of murder. The filing includes a special allegation that Gledhill personally used a deadly weapon: a knife.
The sequence of events—an attack inside the home on June 3, Handy’s serious injury found in his front yard, and Gledhill’s immediate capture on video—ended with a prosecution built around both the act of stabbing and the deadly weapon allegation.
James Handy Top Gun: Maverick Los Angeles Medical Examiner neck compression Michael Gledhill Nathan Hochman murder charge deadly weapon Ring camera footage