Riverdale actor Ryan Grantham has been sentenced to life in prison after admitting the murder of his mother. The 24-year-old pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in March this year after he shot his mum in the back of the head as she played piano in their Vancouver townhouse.
Appearing at British Columbia Supreme Court, the former child actor was handed a life sentence and will not be able to apply for parole for the first 14 years, CBC reports. During the hearing, the court was shown a video taken on a GoPro camera a short time after the killing on March 31, 2020.
In the clip, Grantham showed his mum's lifeless body and confessed to her murder. The following day, he is said to have covered the body in a sheet before lighting candles and hanging a rosary from the piano, the Mirror reports.
He is then said to have loaded his car with three guns, bullets and camping supplies as well as directions to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's property. However, the court heard how he turned around part way through his journey and instead had thoughts of committing a mass shooting at Simon Fraser University, where he was enrolled as a student.
Later that evening, he drove himself to the police station and handed himself in.
It's alleged Grantham wrote about his plans to kill the Trudeau in a diary and that he also later admitted his intentions to the police in a statement. Justice Kathleen Ker, who handed him his sentence, called the case "tragic and heartbreaking".
He added it was a "saving grace" that Grantham had enough attachment to reality and psychological comprehension to choose against a further shooting spree.
In June, the actor, who also starred in Supernatural, iZombie and Diary of a Wimpy Kid addressed the court and gave an apology speech in which he said his mum didn't deserve her fate.
It was argued during the trial that Grantham had been struggling with anxiety, self-loathing and clinical depression, and had expressed a desire to commit suicide or violence against others in the months leading up to his mother’s murder.
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