Ryan Grantham

Ryan Grantham was born on November 30, 1998, to Barbara Waite and his father in Squamish, British Columbia, Canada. He practiced acting as a child and also enrolled in acting schools. Grantham began working in the entertainment industry at nine years old in 2007 with The Secret of the Nutcracker.^[1][2] His mother and younger sister supported his aspiration to become an actor^[1], and in 2020, he was enrolled in Simon Fraser University. However, he missed all of his classes due to his heavy drinking and marijuana usage which was attributed to his depression.^[3][1] Grantham also had suicidal thoughts.^[1]

Grantham made his acting debut in the 2007 television film The Secret of the Nutcracker, playing the role of Billy.^[1] In addition, he has also been in numerous TV shows and movies including Supernatural, iZombie and Becoming Redwood with his last role being in 2019 as Jeffery Augustine for Riverdale.^[4]

On 31 March 2020, Grantham shot his 64-year-old mother in the head with a .22 rifle as she was playing the piano.^[3] After the murder, he filmed his mother's corpse with a GoPro while saying "I shot her in the back of the head. In the moments after, she would have known it was me".^[4] He covered his mother's body with a blanket and rosary before surrounding her body with lit candles.^[3][1] In his March 31 diary entry, he wrote "I'm so sorry Mum, I’m so sorry Lisa - I hate myself. 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."^[3] He watched Netflix, drank beer, and smoked marijuana for hours before going to sleep.^[4][3] Grantham's sister Lisa visited their home and discovered the crime scene on April 1 after not receiving her daily calls or texts from her mother.^[3][1]

A day later, Grantham packed his car with 12 Molotov cocktails, three guns, ammunition, and camping supplies.^[4] He then drove east, planning to either assassinate former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau or go on a rampage at Simon Fraser University or Lions Gate Bridge.^[3] However, Grantham ultimately canceled his plan, and turned around at Hope, British Columbia to drive back to the Vancouver police headquarters to turn himself in.^[3][5][6][2]

His sentencing began on June 13, 2022. His lawyer argued that he did it due to his mental illness, including an intense period of clinical depression. Prosecutors stated he committed a "heartbreaking breach of trust," saying his mother was an excellent parent and she had no reason to fear him.^[7][2]

On September 23, 2022, Grantham pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree murder and was sentenced at the British Columbia Supreme Court to life in prison.^[4] In a court statement, Grantham said "In the face of something so horrible, saying sorry seems so pointless. But from every fibre of my being, I am sorry. I cannot explain or justify my actions. I have no excuse. It hurts me to think about how badly I've wasted my life".^[3] He will not be eligible for parole until 2036.^[4] Grantham has also been receiving psychiatric help while in prison.^[3]