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Riverdale actor Ryan Grantham pleads guilty to killing his mother

16 June 2022, 17:27

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By Jazmin Duribe

Ryan also planned to kill Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

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An actor who has previously starred in Riverdale has pleaded guilty to shooting and killing his mother.

In March 2020, Ryan Grantham shot his mother Barbara Waite, 64, in the back of the head while she played piano in their home, CBC reports.

Then the next day, Ryan loaded his car with three guns, ammunition, 12 Molotov cocktails, camping supplies and printed Google map directions to Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, where Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lives. The 24-year-old mentioned that he wanted to kill Trudeau in his statement to police and in excerpts from his private journal, which were read out in court.

He never made it, though, instead he turned himself in and told an officer sitting in a police car: "I killed my mother."

Riverdale actor Ryan Grantham pleads guilty to killing his mother. Picture: Andrew Chin/Getty Images, The CW

The court heard how that in the months leading up to the killing, Ryan had been feeling hopeless and had the urge to commit violence. He was also experiencing an "intense period of clinical depression", struggling with school, smoking a lot of cannabis and contemplating taking his own life.

Ryan's sister Lisa Grantham discovered her mother's body on April 1 after returning home, having grown concerned when her mother failed to return her phone calls and text messages.

Lisa told the court that the tragedy has completely devastated her life: "How can I trust anybody when my only sibling chose to execute my mom when her back was turned."

Ryan has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder which is an automatic life sentence. He could be incarcerated for 25 years.

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Ryan had been acting since childhood and his last acting credit was playing Jeffery Augustine in Riverdale season 5 (via archived footage). He also starred in Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and Supernatural.