Riverdale fans might be familiar with the character Jeffrey Augustine, who was responsible for the death of Fred Andrews — the father of Archie Andrew, who is the main character in the Netflix series.
Source: Archieverse Wiki
In an ironic turn of events, Ryan Grantham, who portrayed Augustine in the show, shot his mother back in Mar 2020 as she was playing the piano at home.
As his sentencing hearing began on Monday (13 Jun), it was revealed that the 24-year-old Canadian actor had planned on killing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after shooting his mother.
Source: Entertainment Tonight
Those plans, fortunately, did not come to fruition and the actor eventually surrendered himself to the police. He’s now currently awaiting sentencing and may face life imprisonment for his crime.
On Monday (13 Jun), the sentencing hearing into Grantham’s murder of his own mother commenced.
The actor had reportedly shot his mother in the back of her head while she was playing piano at home on 31 Mar 2020.
During the three-day hearing, the court was shown videos of Grantham rehearsing the shooting. On several occasions, the actor walked up behind his mother and pointed a rifle at her, but stopped short of pulling the trigger, reports TODAY.
The court also heard that Grantham was on a “downward spiral” in the months leading up to the incident, notes CBC. Apart from having homicidal and suicidal urges, the actor was also reportedly depressed and spent extensive periods smoking marijuana.
Grantham’s lawyer apparently argued that his client had not committed the killing out of “hatred or animosity” but rather as a result of his “disordered thinking”. He reportedly did not want his mother to see what he was “about to do”.
The day after the shooting, Grantham reportedly started driving toward Ottawa with a car carrying Molotov cocktails, guns, and ammunition, reports CBC.
His aim this time was allegedly to murder Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
However, halfway along his journey, Grantham decided to turn around. At that juncture, his thoughts had turned toward “committing mass violence” at an iconic bridge in Vancouver or at Simon Fraser University, where he studied at.
He thankfully didn’t follow through with his plan and eventually turned himself in. Later that night, Grantham reportedly approached a police officer in a car and told him, “I killed my mother.”
During the sentencing hearing, Grantham also read out a statement in which he apologised for his actions,
In the face of something so horrible, saying sorry seems so pointless. But from every fiber of my being, I am sorry.
The actor also said that his mother was a “caring and compassionate” person who did not deserve what he did to her.
Grantham told the court that he had been attending counselling sessions throughout the past 25 months of incarceration in order to “address” issues he was facing.
Originally charged with first-degree murder, the 24-year-old later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in March this year.
According to NBC Connecticut, second-degree murder comes with an automatic life sentence. The point of contention now is how long Grantham would have to be in prison for before he’ll be eligible for parole.
The presiding judge has reserved the decision for a future date.
Even though Grantham seems apologetic for his heinous crime, some things cannot be undone no matter how apologetic one might be.
For now, we hope his imminent sentencing will provide some form of closure to other members of his family.
If you or anyone you know are struggling with mental health, do consider calling any of these hotlines to seek help:
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Entertainment Tonight and Archieverse Wiki.
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