Farrah Fawcett’s son, Redmond O’Neal, is making great strides in his recovery from drug addiction, his conservator says.
“Redmond has been drug-free and a model patient for five years now at Patton State Hospital,” O’Neal’s godmother and conservator, Mela Murphy, told People in a statement on Thursday, March 12. “He has had to overcome so much in his life. We are proud of him, and Farrah would be too. He finally got a proper mental health diagnosis and medication.”
The statement continued, “I believe his serious drug problems in the past were a result of not having mental health support in his earlier life. Today, he is participating in 12-step recovery, helps out patients, reads every day and has found a spiritual life. There are many friends and supporters of Redmond who are in contact with him and are so proud of his journey to recovery.”
Fawcett, who died in 2009 at age 62 after a battle with anal cancer, welcomed Redmond, 41, with then-boyfriend Ryan O’Neal in 1985. Ryan, who died in December 2023, also shared kids Tatum, 62, and Griffin, 61, with first wife Joanna Moore and son Patrick, 58, with second wife Leigh Taylor-Young.
Redmond has struggled with drug addiction for many years and has had several run-ins with the law, including a 2005 arrest on suspicion of methamphetamine and cocaine possession and a misdemeanor DUI charge in 2007. (He was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay a $1,688 fine.)
In May 2018, Redmond was arrested for an alleged armed robbery of a convenience store and held without bail following an alleged multiday crime spree in which five men were assaulted. He was charged with one count of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of criminal threats, one count of brandishing a knife and one count of battery.
Though Redmond was initially ruled incompetent to stand trial, a 2025 reversal meant that he would face the charges in court after all, the Daily Mail reported. The former voice actor was hospitalized at Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino, California, for three years leading up to his appearance in court on Tuesday, March 10.
During the hearing, Redmond’s attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
Redmond appeared in court with devil horn tattoos on his face, as well as the phrase “F*** life” tattooed on his left hand, per the Daily Mail. He also had a “5250” tattoo on his left cheek, seemingly referring to California penal code 5250, which authorizes an involuntary psychiatric hold for up to 14 days for people considered to be a danger to themselves or others.
Murphy told the Daily Mail that Redmond “found God” during his incarceration at Patton State Hospital.
“The medication is working beautifully and he’s going to his life skills classes every day,” she said. “When I ask him, ‘Are you opening up and helping others there at Patton?’ he always says, ‘Absolutely.’ He still has hope that he will get out.”
