Redmond O'Neal appeared in a Los Angeles court on Thursday sporting what appeared to be Nazi SS lightning-bolt tattoos on his neck.
The 41-year-old, who is the son of late Hollywood stars Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal, attended his arraignment at the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where his defense team successfully requested to postpone proceedings until October.
O'Neal arrived with grown-out red hair that covered up forehead devil horn tattoos first revealed earlier this year. However, new photographs taken by the Daily Mail showed what appeared to be two "SS" lightning-bolt tattoos on the left side of his neck. The symbol was historically used by the SS, Nazi Germany's black-uniformed paramilitary organization, and has since been adopted by white supremacist groups as a hate symbol.
Defense attorney Dana Cole did not deny that his client has the tattoo, but insisted that the ink is not new. "In my discussions with Redmond, I have never detected any racist supremacist attitudes," Cole told the Daily Mail. "I think he's a very changed man and he got those tattoos many years ago when he was suffering from serious mental illness. It is unfortunate that while in prison, there is no process to get rid of offensive tattoos, which I'm sure he wants to do."
Cole added: "He has been nothing but respectful to me and in the discussions that we've had. While I don't know for a fact, from what I understand, inmates are forced to align to certain hate groups for self-preservation."
Arraignment hearing and criminal charges
O'Neal has remained in custody since his May 2018 arrest following an alleged week-long crime spree in the Santa Monica and Venice Beach areas of Los Angeles. He is accused of attacking two actors, threatening a café worker with a knife, and attempting to rob a convenience store.
In total, O'Neal faces 13 charges, including felony attempted murder with a special allegation that he premeditated and deliberately tried to kill actor Seth Folkerson. He was also charged with battery, assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a controlled substance, and second-degree robbery. He faces a potential life sentence if convicted, and has denied all of the charges.
The case was stalled for years over concerns about O'Neal's mental competency. He was found incompetent to stand trial and spent years in state psychiatric hospitals before being deemed competent to proceed. During a preliminary hearing in June, LA County Superior Court Commissioner James P. Cooper ruled prosecutors proved there was enough probable cause to hold O'Neal to the 13 charges.
On Thursday, O'Neal appeared before LA County Superior Court Judge William L. Sadler. When the judge asked O'Neal if he agreed to continue his arraignment to October, he quietly replied, "Yes, sir, your Honor." Judge Sadler ordered a no bail hold for O'Neal, who will remain at Patton State Hospital, a forensic psychiatric hospital in San Bernardino, California, to continue mental health treatments as he awaits trial. Before being ushered out by the bailiff, O'Neal looked back into the audience and smiled at his godmother, Mela Murphy, who smiled back.
After the hearing, Cole told the Daily Mail they requested the continuance because they plan to file a motion to dismiss some of the charges due to time already spent in custody, including a second-degree robbery charge involving a 7-Eleven clerk and an assault with a deadly weapon charge involving female café employee Samantha Cline.
Alleged coffee shop and convenience store attacks
Samantha Cline testified during the preliminary hearing in June that O'Neal walked into a café in Venice, California, where she was working as a barista. She recalled that O'Neal allegedly threatened her and her coworker and yelled, "Stop staring at me," before punching the shop's espresso machine.
Surveillance footage played in court showed O'Neal allegedly punch a display case as Cline recounted the attack. "I was wary of him when he came in," Cline testified. "He seemed like he was looking at our tip jar. I don't think he had a menacing glare, but I was watching him." She added: "He pulled a knife out of his pocket and came toward me with a knife in his hand. I thought to myself, 'I don't want to die in this moment.'"
Allegations from actor Seth Folkerson
Actor Seth Folkerson testified that O'Neal allegedly attacked him as he was walking to his car parked on 4th Street in Venice Beach on May 4, 2018. Folkerson said his throat was slit along the carotid artery, and he was stabbed on his left temple and in his right pectoral muscle, suffering five stab wounds in total.
Folkerson testified that the wounds were deep enough that his lung and liver were ruptured in the attack. He was hospitalized for about four and a half months, continues to suffer ongoing health issues, and remembers little about the day of the incident due to his head wounds.
Disputed claims by actor Kenneth Fox
Cole said defense attorneys also plan to challenge an assault with a deadly weapon charge connected to allegations made by actor Kenneth Fox. Fox testified that O'Neal struck him in the face with a glass bottle while hurling homophobic slurs, repeatedly kicked him, and beat him over the head.
However, responding police officers testified that their reports did not indicate Fox told them about any homophobic slurs. In his closing argument, Cole alleged Fox lied on the stand, stating body camera footage showed Fox telling officers only that he was punched in the nose. Fox sued O'Neal in September 2018 alongside attorney Gloria Allred, but court records show he settled the case for an undisclosed amount.
Family background and mental health struggles
Godmother Mela Murphy has told the Daily Mail that O'Neal found God during his incarceration and that his mental health has improved while receiving treatment at Patton State Hospital. Mental health records obtained by the Daily Mail show O'Neal was diagnosed in 2017 with schizophrenia, alcohol abuse, as well as methamphetamine and cocaine abuse.
O'Neal is the son of actress Farrah Fawcett, known for her starring role in Charlie's Angels, and Oscar-nominated actor Ryan O'Neal, who were in a long-term, on-again-off-again relationship from 1979 to 1997. Fawcett died of anal cancer at age 62 on June 29, 2009, when Redmond was 24. Ryan O'Neal died of congestive heart failure at age 82 on December 8, 2023. In a 2018 jail interview with Radar Online following his arrest, Redmond O'Neal blamed his father for his downward spiral, stating that life trauma affected him more than drugs after his father kicked him out to live on the streets.
