Riverdale actor Ryan Grantham's lawyer fears he'll be abused by other prisoners after murder conviction

The lawyer of Riverdale star Ryan Grantham has said he fears the actor will be abused by other prisoners after he was found guilty of murdering his mum.

The 24-year-old pleaded guilty to killing his 64-year-old mother Barbara Waite after fatally shooting her in the head while she played piano in the family home.

Grantham was charged with second-degree murder and life in prison without the possibility of parole for the first 14 years of his sentence.

During Grantham's trial, we also learned he was plotting to kill Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau.

Netflix

His lawyer Chris Johnson has now come out and said he is concerned that Grantham will be 'preyed upon by other prisoners and perhaps abused by them'.

Johnson told Fox News: "We send people to prison to be both punished and rehabilitated.

"And so I’m hopeful that the latter can take place. We don’t send people to prison so they can be punished by other prisoners."

After the verdict, Johnson said: "It was, I think, the lowest possible [sentence] we could expect given the circumstances."

He added: "There's a lot of aspects to the case that are more equivalent to first degree [murder] than they are with second degree."

Crown prosecutor Michaela Donnelly said: "He put the crosshairs on the back of her head, closed his eyes and pulled the trigger."

His sister Lisa, who found the body of their mum, told the court of the devastating impact the incident has had.

She said: "How can I trust anybody when my only sibling chose to execute my mom when her back was turned?"

Netflix

After the murder took place, the actor wrote in his private journal: "I'm so sorry mom, I'm so sorry Lisa. I hate myself.

"There's a lot of media of me out there […] film and TV […] hundreds of hours of me that can be viewed and dissected [...] No one will understand.

"In the moments after, she would have known it was me."

The next day, Grantham packed his car with mapping supplies and a map with directions to Trudeau's residence, Rideau Cottage.

Guns and Molotov cocktails were also packed into the car.

In his statement to authorities, as well as in his journal, Grantham said he had second thoughts about the plan.

If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677