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“Diary of a Wimpy Kid” Actor Sentenced to Life in Prison For Killing His Mother | He Shot Her While She Played The Piano
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“Diary of a Wimpy Kid” Actor Sentenced to Life in Prison For Killing His Mother | He Shot Her While She Played The Piano

He shot his mother in 2020 and even planned to muder Justin Trudeau after the murder.

Cover image source: YouTube screenshot | Inside Edition | Riverdale | Warner Bros. Television Distribution

Trigger warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of violence that some readers may find distressing

Ryan Grantham, the actor in Diary of a Wimpy Kid, has seen sentenced to life in prison for killing his mother. The 24-year-old pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of his mother, Barbara Waite. He shot the 64-year-old while she was playing piano in their house in British Columbia, Canada, reports HuffPost. Grantham has portrayed a variety of characters during his career, including a student impersonating a shrub in an on-stage version of The Wizard of Oz in the 2010 film Diary of a Wimpy Kid. He also appears in Riverdale as Jeffery Augustine, a kid who runs over and murders Fred Andrews with his father's vehicle. 

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According to evidence given in court, Grantham confessed to the crime in a GoPro video and displayed his mother's body. As we reported earlier, He also had plans to kill Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He rehearsed his mother's murder and hours after killing her loaded his car with three guns, ammunition, 12 Molotov cocktails, and camping supplies. He had a map to Rideau Cottage, where Trudeau lives with his family. 

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Grantham discussed his intention to assassinate Trudeau in a police statement as well as in his private journal, some of which were read in court. Fortunately, instead of heading to Trudeau's house, Grantham went to the Vancouver police station to surrender himself. Before turning himself in, he also admitted to having plans of committing a mass shooting at Simon Fraser University where he was enrolled, or on the Lions Gate Bridge, reports CBC. His crimes had an automatic life sentence and Grantham just waited for the court to declare the time period after which he can apply for parole. He will be ineligible for parole for the first 14 years of his sentence. 

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In announcing the sentence in the British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver, Justice Kathleen Ker described the case as terrible and devastating and said victim impact testimonies, particularly from his sister, attested to the "life-shattering" consequences of the murder. She said that Grantham had enough commitment to reality and psychological understanding to refrain from going on a killing spree.

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Grantham was in a downward spiral in the months preceding the matricide, she said, spending an increasing amount of time, consuming cannabis and viewing violent movies on the dark web, feeling alienated and plagued by suicidal and murderous desires. Grantham, she claimed, looked genuinely sorry. In June, he apologized to the court, stating his mother was a nice and sympathetic lady who did not deserve what he did to her.

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References:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dairy-of-a-wimpy-kid-actor-murder-sentence_n_632d5352e4b09d8701be4b8a

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/actor-ryan-grantham-court-sentencing-hearing-sentenced-1.6588962

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Cover image source: YouTube screenshot | Inside Edition | Riverdale | Warner Bros. Television Distribution