Actor Ryan Grantham sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his mother

Ryan Grantham, a 23-year-old Canadian actor who has more than 30 credits, including the 2010 movie “Diary of the Wimpy Kid” and recent CW series “Riverdale,” was sentenced by a Vancouver Court this week to life in prison for the murder of his mother, the New York Times reports. The young actor pleaded guilty earlier this year to second-degree murder (which, in Canada, carries a presumption of a life sentence). The only issue at sentencing was a determination as to when he would be eligible for parole.

Citing documented mental health challenges, Grantham’s attorney argued that he should be eligible for parole after 12 years. Prosecutors argued that he should not be eligible until he served 17-18 years. The Court ultimately settled in the middle, and ruled that he will be eligible to apply after 14 years. The Court also imposed a lifetime ban on the possession of firearms.

The crime occurred on March 31, 2020 (at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic), while Grantham was with his mother at their home in Squamish, a town in British Columbia, just south of Whistler. Grantham’s mother was apparently playing the piano when he shot her in the back of the head. Shortly thereafter, he recorded a video wherein he confessed to the murder, and then allegedly left the scene. He later told law enforcement that he intended to kill the Prime Minister of Canada, but then decided, instead, to carry out a mass school shooting, possibly at Simon Fraser University (where he had formerly been a student). He did not do either. Rather, he turned himself in to authorities on April 1, 2020.

He purportedly later rationalized that he needed to kill his mother so she did not have to deal with the consequences of the crimes he was intended to commit.

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