Ryan Grantham, a former actor from “Riverdale,” has been handed a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the first 14 years after confessing to the murder of his mother and planning an assassination attempt on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The 24-year-old actor received the sentence over six months after pleading guilty to second-degree murder for fatally shooting his mother, Barbara Waite, 64, as she played the piano in March 2020.
Justice Kathleen Ker of the British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver, who delivered the sentence, described the case as tragic, heart-wrenching, and “life-shattering.”
During a previous sentencing hearing, prosecutors recommended a parole ineligibility period of up to 18 years for Grantham, while his legal team argued for 12 years as an appropriate consequence.
With approximately 30 credits to his name, Grantham notably portrayed Jeffrey Augustine in the fourth season of “Riverdale” in 2019, making a brief but influential appearance. His career, which began in 2007, also includes roles in the 2010 film “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” as well as appearances on “Supernatural,” “iZombie,” and in “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.”
It was revealed in court that Grantham had videotaped his mother’s body after the murder and confessed to the killing on camera.
The day after the murder, Grantham meticulously arranged the body in a semi-religious setting before leaving. At one point, he had contemplated targeting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for assassination, as mentioned in a journal submitted as evidence.
Grantham also considered carrying out a mass shooting at Vancouver’s Simon Fraser University or on the iconic Lions Gate Bridge.
Fortunately, none of these plans materialized, and Grantham ultimately went to the East Vancouver police station and turned himself in. He reportedly bluntly confessed to the police at the station’s front desk, saying, “I killed my mother.”
During sentencing, Ker stated that it was a “saving grace” that Grantham retained enough connection to reality and understanding to refrain from committing a mass murder.
Ker also noted that in the months leading up to the matricide, Grantham had spiraled downward, engaging in drug use, watching violent content on the dark web, and experiencing suicidal and homicidal thoughts.
She observed that Grantham appeared genuinely remorseful and had apologized for his actions in June, acknowledging that his mother did not deserve what he did to her.
