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Riverdale actor Ryan Grantham sentenced to life in prison for killing his mother

Riverdale actor Ryan Grantham sentenced to life in prison for killing his mother

Riverdale actor Ryan Grantham was handed a life sentence after pleading guilty to murdering his mother, Barbara Waite, in 2020.

The 24-year-old former child star, who played Jeffery Augustine in the Netflix teen drama, was sentenced at British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver on Wednesday.

Mr Grantham pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, after having initially been charged with first-degree murder.

Ms Waite was killed by Grantham after he shot her in the back of her head while playing the piano at their home, north of Vancouver.

In the moments that followed, the Canadian actor filmed his mother’s body while saying: “I shot her in the back of the head. In the moments after, she would have known it was me.”

Prosecutors said he had also plotted to kill Canadian PM Justin Trudeau.

After drinking beer and smoking marijuana for hours following the murder, he packed a car with three guns, ammunition and 12 Molotov cocktails he had made, as well as camping supplies and directions to Mr Trudeau’s Rideau Cottage residence.

He drove roughly 200 kilometres east to the town of Hope, before turning around and driving to a Vancouver police station, where he told an officer: “I killed my mother.”

Grantham has been in custody for the past two and a half years, law enforcement officials in Vancouver told Deadline, and has been participating in a mental health program since his arrest.

During the trial, his lawyers argued he had been struggling with anxiety and clinical depression and had expressed a desire to kill himself and harm others in the months leading up to him killing his mother.

Grantham’s other acting credits include fantasy drama Supernatural, as well the 2010 film Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Despite his life sentence, he will be eligible for parole after the first 14 years.