Diary of a Wimpy Kid Actor Sentenced for Killing Mom

Ryan Grantham gets life behind bars in Canada case
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 23, 2022 1:00 AM CDT
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Actor Sentenced for Killing Mom
Stock photo.   (Getty Images / Zolnierek)

In March 2020, former child actor Ryan Grantham fatally shot his mother. On Tuesday, the 24-year-old was sentenced to life in prison in a Vancouver, British Columbia, courtroom, CTV News reports. Grantham, best known for his role in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film adaptation as well as for playing the Riverdale character who killed Luke Perry's character in a hit-and-run in a 2019 episode of the show, will not be eligible for parole until 2034, the CBC reports. His defense team said Grantham has long struggled with his mental health, and had been increasingly isolated and depressed in the lead-up to his mother's murder, watching violent videos on the dark web and grappling with suicidal and homicidal urges.

After shooting his mother in the head as she played piano in their home, Grantham planned to travel to Ottawa and kill Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; he also considered executing a mass shooting. But, gripped by what the judge referred to as a "saving grace," he ended up instead driving himself to the Vancouver Police Department and turning himself in the day after murdering his mother. His defense team says he's been getting mental health treatment behind bars, and the judge encouraged him to continue that. Both the judge and his defense team made note of his "diminutive" or "fairly tiny" stature, and the judge recommended he not be sent to a maximum security prison. (More murder stories.)

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