OPP officer's body cam captured his shooting death near Hagersville, Ont., Crown tells murder trial

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Hamilton·New

The proceedings for Randall McKenzie and Brandi Stewart-Sperry, accused of the first-degree execution of Const. Grzegorz Pierzchala of Ontario Provincial Police, has begun successful Cayuga, with the Crown presenting a timeline and witnesser interviews, and saying body-cam footage worn by the serviceman volition beryllium important successful the proceedings.

Randall McKenzie, Brandi Stewart-Sperry person pleaded not blameworthy to 1st-degree murder

Justin Chandler · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 28, 2025 2:17 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

OPP Const. Grzegorz Pierzchal with a horse.

Footage from a body camera worn by Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Const. Greg Pierzchala will amusement the infinitesimal helium was changeable portion responding to a conveyance successful a ditch successful December 2022 extracurricular Hagersville, the Crown told the opening of the first-degree execution proceedings of the 2 accused.

Crown authoritative Fraser McKracken besides said Thursday helium volition amusement a redacted mentation of the footage to the assemblage connected Friday erstwhile helium interviews bystanders who said they witnessed the shooting.

Randall McKenzie and Brandi Stewart-Sperry person pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. Both defendants person their ain defence lawyers for the trial.

At the clip of Pierzchala's death, helium was 28 and police said helium was killed the aforesaid time helium learned helium had passed his 10-month probation play with the OPP.

After the Crown's opening connection Thursday, the tribunal began hearing from witnesses who said they stopped astatine the broadside of the road to assistance McKenzie and Stewart-Sperry aft their car ended up successful the ditch.

One mates travelling to Christmas meal offered to telephone a cab oregon roadside assistance, McKracken said. A parent and girl connected their mode to the state presumption offered to springiness the brace a lift.

The past idiosyncratic who stopped to assistance McKenzie and Stewart-Sperry was Pierzchala, tribunal heard. The Crown alleges portion McKenzie pulled the trigger, Stewart-Sperry helped him.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Andrew Goodman is presiding implicit the trial. It's being held in Cayuga, a assemblage adjacent Hagersville, and is expected to past six weeks.

Others stopped to assistance 2 aft conveyance entered ditch

McKracken outlined respective instances of drivers pulling up alongside McKenzie and Stewart-Sperry adjacent Town Line and Concession 14 earlier Pierzchala, who was stationed successful the area, arrived.

The serviceman saw 2 bystanders were with the defendants, McKracken said. Pierzchala turned connected his assemblage camera earlier getting retired of the car, and told the others helium was signaling their enactment and trying to fig retired what happened, tribunal heard.

According to McKracken, Stewart-Sperry told the serviceman she was looking astatine a representation and swerved. As she was talking, McKenzie moved astir to Pierzchala's side. He had a handgun concealed successful his hoodie's kangaroo pocket, the prosecutor said, and utilized it to sprout Pierzchala six times.

An aged chromatic gathering with a motion speechmaking "court house" connected the front, and an aged cannon successful the gait earlier it.

The Crown called 4 witnesses connected Thursday. Lawyers asked them to picture what happened erstwhile they stopped to assistance McKenzie and Stewart-Sperry, and to picture the scene.

According to the Crown, aft McKenzie shot the officer, helium demanded the bystanders' keys and stole their car, fleeing with Stewart-Sperry. A antithetic passerby chased them successful his conveyance but mislaid show of wherever they went, McKracken said.

Using the vehicle's information system, constabulary tracked the car to a location connected Mississauga Road connected Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, McKracken said.

He said McKenzie's household lived astatine that home, and immoderate of his household members — including his member and counsin — will beryllium called to testify.

Police chased defendants connected ft and from air, assemblage hears

A household subordinate warned the defendants that constabulary were coming and the 2 fled into the woods, tribunal was told. As constabulary chased them connected foot, an OPP serviceman successful a chopper tracked the brace with thermal imaging.

The 2 fled unneurotic and past divided up. Stewart-Sperry surrendered soon after, followed by McKenzie surrendering, the Crown said.

According to McKracken, the serviceman successful the chopper observed McKenzie discarding a gun, which constabulary recovered and forensic scientists identified arsenic being the aforesaid customized handgun utilized successful the Pierzchala shooting.

McKenzie besides had a telephone connected him that included texts from Dec. 14, 2022. It's uncertain astatine this constituent if those texts volition beryllium presented arsenic evidence.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Justin Chandler is simply a CBC News newsman successful Hamilton. He has a peculiar involvement successful however nationalist argumentation affects people, and helium loves a quirky human-interest story. Justin covered existent affairs successful Hamilton and Niagara for TVO, and has worked connected a assortment of CBC teams and programs, including As It Happens, Day 6 and CBC Music. He co-hosted Radio Free Krypton connected Met Radio. You tin email communicative ideas to justin.chandler(at)cbc(dot)ca.