Ryan Grantham, a Canadian actor who appeared on the television series Riverdale and in a featured role in 2010's Diary of a Wimpy Kid, is facing a life sentence for second-degree murder after he recently pleaded guilty to killing his mother two years ago.
But Grantham, 24, had much grander plans that fortunately did not come to fruition.
During a sentencing hearing last week for Grantham, the court heard he also allegedly plotted to kill Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Grantham shot his mother, Barbara Waite, in the back of the head as she played piano in their home on March 31, 2020. Grantham had rehearsed the killing beforehand and filmed a video afterward in which he confessed to the murder and displayed his mother's corpse on camera.
The day after the murder, Grantham got into a car with three guns, ammunition, 12 Molotov cocktails, camping supplies and a map with directions to Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, where he intended to kill Trudeau according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
But Grantham—who Crown Prosecutor Michaela Donnelly, referencing two psychiatric reports, said was going through a particularly intense period of clinical depression prior to the murder—appeared to have a change of heart and drove instead to police headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia and confessed to murdering his mother.
The psychiatric reports say Grantham had experienced urges to commit violence and ultimately decided to kill his mother to spare her from seeing the violence he intended to commit.
Crown Prosecutor Donnelly said Grantham had committed a "heartbreaking breach of trust" when he murdered his mother and noted that he, despite being aware of his struggles with urges to commit violence, bought a new gun in the days before the murder.
It is unclear how the news that Grantham had plotted to kill Trudeau might factor into his sentencing, but the news has nonetheless taken social media by storm.
Many have expressed shock and confusion in light of the news.
\u201cWTH???\n\n\u2018Riverdale' Actor Ryan Grantham Allegedly Plotted to Kill Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau https://t.co/V2tg6RHGLv\u201d— Kristine Worley (@Kristine Worley) 1655631491
\u201cmy eyes grew wider with every word i read\u201d— ajay / luke \ud83d\udda4\ud83c\udf0a (@ajay / luke \ud83d\udda4\ud83c\udf0a) 1655468531
\u201cthis just gets 10x worse when you read the article\u201d— Robyn :) (@Robyn :)) 1655444732
\u201cEveryone is going to talk about the abandoned plan to kill the PM & not about the cold brutal way he murdered his mom shooting in back of head, took a video with her body, watched Netflix & went to bed with her body in the home\ud83d\ude1f remember HER. His behavior was horrible\u201d— angelfireeast (@angelfireeast) 1655260058
\u201cwildest show on tv, this is a certified riverdale moment https://t.co/9xN7qwuxjz\u201d— dan (@dan) 1655349179
\u201ceach word i continue reading of this feels like i got shot in the leg\u201d— \ud83e\udd27 (@\ud83e\udd27) 1655408635
\u201cthis headline reads like a mad libs\u201d— cat (@cat) 1655418543
\u201csomething shifted in reality because too many insane things are happening\u201d— yaya \u2649\ufe0f (@yaya \u2649\ufe0f) 1655411984
\u201cI didn\u2019t see that coming \ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d\u201d— jade the babe \ud83d\udc95 (@jade the babe \ud83d\udc95) 1655400967
\u201cThe biggest wildride of a headline I've ever read.\u201d— H\u00e9ctor \ud83c\udfd4\ufe0f (@H\u00e9ctor \ud83c\udfd4\ufe0f) 1655401052
Second-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence. Grantham would be ineligible for parole for a period ranging from 10 to 25 years.
Trudeau himself has not commented on Grantham's sentencing.
