Ryan Grantham, an actor who has been in the CW series Riverdale and the film Diary of a Wimpy Kid, has been given a life sentence for killing his mother in their Canadian home. According to the New York Times, Grantham, 24, was sentenced on Wednesday after pleading guilty to second-degree murder earlier this year, which carries a mandatory life term.
Grantham, who was 21 at the time, used a handgun to shoot his mother, Barbara Waite, 64, in the back of the head while she practiced the piano on March 31, 2020. In the family’s house in Squamish, which is about an hour away from Vancouver, the crime took place.
Grantham made a video confessing to the crime soon after the murder. Eventually, he admitted to the police that his original plans included assassinating Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, and maybe carrying out a mass shooting at a nearby university. However, he later altered his mind.
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According to the Times, he admitted to authorities that he justified killing his mother by saving her from having to cope with the fallout from his unsuccessful attempts to assassinate Trudeau and fire up a school.
Wednesday’s sentencing hearing mostly served to establish Grantham’s eligibility for parole. While Grantham’s defense asked for a waiting time of merely 12 years, the prosecution demanded one of 17 to 18. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Judge Kathleen Ker ruled that Grantham must spend 14 years before becoming eligible to seek parole.
Grantham has been incarcerated as of April 1, 2020. The Hollywood Reporter stated that he was evaluated by two psychiatrists authorized by the court. Chris Johnson, Grantham’s lawyer, claims that Grantham has significant mental health problems.
Johnson told the Hollywood Reporter that the psychiatrists “agreed that at the time of this horrifying event he was suffering from a significant depressive problem and a cannabis use issue, among other things.” Grantham has made several film and television appearances. In addition to Riverdale and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, he appeared in Supernatural.
