Although Grantham’s sentence was already expected to be life in prison, this was given that he had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Until then, the period in which he could aspire to apply for parole was not clear.
The prosecution noted during the June hearing that on March 31, 2020, Grantham shot his 64-year-old mother, Barbara Waite, in the back of the head while she was playing the piano.
In the expert reports, the court learned that Grantham rehearsed the murder and took videos throughout the process., also one in which he confessed and exposed his mother’s body. Grantham also allegedly loaded his car the next day with three pistols, ammunition, a dozen Molotov cocktails, camping supplies and directions to the home of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with the alleged intent to assassinate him.
Although the young actor turned himself in to the police in Vancouver. CBC revealed that Judge Kathleen Ker considered it a “saving grace” that Grantham decided to go ahead with a killing spree. She, in turn, pointed out the “devastating” impacts of the murder he committed, such as the actor’s sister’s statements about the impact on the victim.
According to a report from CBC in June, psychiatric reports were released indicating that Grantham was going through a “intense period of clinical depression” prior to executing his mother, with “urges to commit violence and commit suicide”.
Grantham allegedly decided to kill his mother, who was battling cancer at the time, “to prevent her from seeing the violence he intended to commit.” On Tuesday, September 20, Ker said that he considered the actor’s mental health problems to be a mitigating circumstance in the murder.
It was also revealed that Grantham is currently receiving psychiatric help in prison.