The actor, 24, received the sentence more than six months after entering a guilty plea to a charge of second-degree murder in connection with the death of his mother, 64-year-old Barbara Waite, whom he shot in the back of the head as she practiced the piano in March 2020.
In a sentence hearing earlier this year, the prosecution had proposed Grantham get a parole ban of up to 18 years. The defense team for the former actor had requested 12 years as a reasonable punishment.
Grantham, who has about 30 credits to his name, rose to prominence in 2019 for his portrayal of Jeffrey Augustine on Riverdale's fourth season. Despite making only one brief appearance, the character was crucial to the Archie comics-based sitcom.
Grantham confessed to killing his mother on camera after taking a video of the body, it was revealed in court.
After meticulously setting up the body in a vaguely holy manner, Grantham left the following day. He wrote in a journal that was submitted as evidence that he was planning to try to kill Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at one time, with his intentions changing frequently.
Grantham also thought of carrying out a mass shooting at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver or on the well-known Lions Gate Bridge.
Thankfully, none of it happened, and Grantham instead went to the police station in East Vancouver and turned himself in. He is alleged to have told officers at the station's main desk, "I killed my mother.
When Grantham was being sentenced, Ker referred to it as a "saving grace" because he was attached to reality and intelligent enough to refrain from committing a violent crime.
She mentioned Grantham's downward spiral in the months before his mother was killed, which included him consuming pot, watching violent films on the dark web, and having suicidal and homicidal ideas.
Ker said that Grantham showed genuine contrition. He expressed regret for his conduct in June, claiming that his mother did not deserve what he had done to her.
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