‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ Actor Gets Life in Prison
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is an early-2000’s novel-turned-film that sold millions of copies. Most of us are familiar with the franchise, and the last thing we’d expect would be for its title would be associated with murder.
Unfortunately, this is the case. Ryan Grantham, a Canadian who played Rodney in the movie, has been found guilty of the second-degree murder of his mother that took place in 2020. Grantham has been a part of over thirty shows, but is best known for his role as Rodney and Jeffery Augustine from the show Riverdale, who, ironically, also committed murder.
On March 31 of 2020, a then-20-year-old Grantham shot his 64-year-old mother, who was fighting cancer, in her head as she was playing piano. Shortly after, he recorded a GoPro video confessing to the crime, as well as showing the body of his deceased mother. The following day, he covered her body with a sheet and lit some candles, as well as placing a rosary over the piano where his mother passed. Later that day, his mother’s body was discovered by his sister, Lisa Grantham.
He then proceeded to load his car with ammunition and firearms, as the next part of his plan was to murder Canadian Prime Minister Justin Treudeau. During his commute to carry out the rest of his plan, he had thoughts of committing a mass-murder at the university he attended, but thought twice about that one. He thought twice about the entirety of his plan, as it turns out. Because that same night he instead turned himself in to the Vancouver Police Department.
Second-degree murder is an automatic life sentence, but the actor will be eligible for parole once 14 years has passed. This is perhaps in part due to his apology, and the fact that he showed remorse and seemed to care about his mental health. Light has been shed on what his mental health was like during the time of the murder, including psychiatric reports that he had been suffering episodes of depression.
In these reports, there were also written notes that Grantham had urges to harm others and himself. Around that time, he had also been viewing violent content on the dark web and partaking in usage of marijuana. The Supreme Court justice who heard his case, Justice Kathleen Ker, called it a “saving grace” that he didn’t follow through with the remaining parts of his plan.
According to his lawyer, Chris Johnson, Grantham thought he needed to kill his mother before committing atrocities against other people, so she wouldn’t have to see the consequences of his further intended actions. The actor is now 24 and has plead guilty to the murder of his mother. Both his lawyer and the judge believe he is committed to being a better person for himself and others. He has been getting psychiatric help in jail and seems to be showing improvements in his behavior.
