A Riverdale actor killed his mother to spare her from witnessing his plan to assassinate Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
British Columbia prosecutors said during a sentencing hearing on Monday that Ryan Grantham, 24, fatally shot his 64-year-old mother, Barbara Waite, ‘to save her’ from seeing his assassination plot against the Canadian prime minister unfold.
After shooting Waite in the back of her head as she played piano on March 31, 2020, Grantham covered her body with a sheet and placed rosaries and candles around her, Canadian outlet CBC reported.
He then stored three guns, ammunition and 12 Molotov cocktails in his car and headed to Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, prosecutors claimed.
Grantham had planned to travel more than 50 hours to kill Trudeau, before changing his mind and considering committing ‘an act of mass violence,’ at Simon Fraser University, which he had dropped out from.
He turned himself to Vancouver police before harming anybody else and pleaded guilty in March to second-degree murder.
Grantham is most known for playing Jeffery Augustine in Riverdale, His character was written into the show as the hit-and-run killer of Luke Perry’s character, after Perry died of a stroke.
Sentencing hearings for Grantham concluded Wednesday, although a judge has yet to hand down a prison term. Prosecutors have asked for him to serve at least 17 to 18 years before he can be considered for parole.
British Columbia prosecutors said during a sentencing hearing on Monday that Ryan Grantham (pictured), 24, fatally shot his 64-year-old mother, Barbara Waite, ‘to save her’ from seeing his assassination plot unfold
After shooting Waite (pictured) in the back of her head as she played piano on March 31, 2020, Grantham covered her body with a sheet and placed rosaries and candles around he
Grantham stored three guns, ammunition and 12 Molotov cocktails in his car and headed to Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, prosecutors claimed. Grantham had planned to travel more than 50 hours to kill Trudeau
Prosecutors told the court on Monday that Grantham’s actions were ‘something different than altruism.’
‘Mr. Grantham was seeking to save his mother from something he was going to do,’ prosecutor Michaela Donnelly said during the sentencing hearing.
The murder was described by Donnelly as a ‘heartbreaking breach of trust.’
‘Barbara Waite loved her son very much, was an excellent parent and in her mind had no reason to fear him,’ she said.
Donnelly added that Grantham had many opportunities to change his mind, but ultimately went on with his plan to kill his mother.
He reportedly unloaded and reloaded his weapon several times before carrying out the attack.
According to CBC, Grantham had recorded GoPro video of himself secretly approaching his mother with a gun from behind before the March 2020 killing.
Grantham is most known for playing Jeffery Augustine in Riverdale, His character was written into the show as the hit-and-run killer of Luke Perry’s character, after Perry died of a stroke.
Two psychiatric evaluations presented by the prosecution concluded that Grantham committed the crime to spare her mother from witnessing further acts of violence he planned on committing.
According to the evaluations, Grantham exhibited cannabis use disorder, depression, self-hatred, and suicidal and homicidal tendencies months before the killing.
‘I’m so sorry mom, I’m so sorry Lisa … I hate myself,’ a March journal entry shared by prosecutors read.
‘There’s a lot of media of me out there … film and TV … hundreds of hours of me that can be viewed and dissected … No one will understand.’
According to CBC, Grantham reportedly feared that his mother would find out he had stopped attending classes at Simon Fraser University and was abusing marijuana.
Waite’s body was found on April 1, 2020, by her daughter Lisa, who arrived at the after Waite failed to answer her calls and texts.
‘How can I trust anybody when my only sibling chose to execute my mom when her back was turned,’ Lisa Grantham said in court.
After the sickening crime occurred at Waite’s home in the community of Squamish, Grantham recorded a video showing the body and admitting the crime, which was played in court Monday.
Grantham reportedly feared that his mother would find out he had stopped attending classes at Simon Fraser University and was abusing marijuana. He briefly considered carrying an act of mass violence at the school, prosecutors said
He proceeded to cover his mother with a sheet, and placed candles and rosaries around her.
Grantham planned on traveling 50 hours to kill Trudeau, and had weapons, ammunition, and explosives in his car.
At one point, he considered committing an act of violence at his former university but turned himself in to police in Vancouver.
Grantham pleaded guilty in March to a second-degree murder charge in March, which carries a sentence of life in prison in Canada.
Prosecutors asked the court to not grant him parole for at least 17 or 18 years.
In addition to his Riverdale performance, Grantham is known for his appearances in Supernatural, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism