The jury has begun deliberations at the trial of Randall McKenzie and Brandi Stewart-Sperry, the two people charged in the death of Ontario Provincial Police Const. Greg Pierzchala.
Pierzchala was shot just moments after he arrived at the scene of a vehicle in the ditch on Indian Line outside Hagersville, Ont. on Dec. 27, 2022.
McKenzie and Stewart-Sperry were arrested hours later, as they emerged separately from a wooded area in Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
They were both charged with first-degree murder, to which both pleaded not guilty.
Their trial began four and a half weeks ago with jury selection at a small courthouse in Cayuga, Ont.
The Crown alleges McKenzie was the shooter and Stewart-Sperry intentionally helped him carry out the murder.
Throughout the course of the trial, jurors saw video of the shooting captured on Pierzchala’s body-worn camera, heard testimony from witnesses to the shooting, watched footage of a getaway truck stolen from the scene of the shooting speeding to McKenzie’s family homestead in Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, listened to testimony from some of McKenzie’s family members, read texts McKenzie sent about shooting out with police, looked at thermal imaging footage of the arrests taken from a police helicopter, and examined extensive forensic evidence.
In his charge, Justice Andrew Goodman told the jury that when it comes to McKenzie, there is a single issue: identity.
The sole or fundamental question they must contemplate is “are you satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that McKenzie was the shooter?”
If so, he will be found guilty of first-degree murder. If not, he must be acquitted.
Stewart-Sperry’s case is more complex, with Justice Goodman providing the jury with extensive information on this point, and two flow charts to help guide them through the questions they’ll have to consider to come to their verdict.
Stewart-Sperry could be found guilty of first-degree murder, guilty of the lesser offense of manslaughter, or not guilty.
Stewart-Sperry admitted to being at the scene of the shooting. It’s alleged she drove a stolen vehicle into a ditch - the call Pierzchala was responding to. Multiple pieces of stolen property were later found in that vehicle and in a backpack seized from Stewart-Sperry when she was arrested.
The jury will have to determine whether she intentionally helped or encouraged the shooting, and if she knew about the shooter’s plan.
They may also have to determine whether she was intoxicated by drugs that were identified on blood tests drawn several hours after the shooting, and whether she could form the intent required for first-degree murder.
They may also have to consider whether Stewart-Sperry was part of a joint plan to commit another offense, such as theft or possession of stolen property, and avoid apprehension by police, and could reasonably believe that someone could sustain serious bodily harm or death in the commission of that original plan.
Throughout the trial, 14 jurors have listened to the evidence, though only 12 can ultimately deliberate as per the criminal code. Two jurors were dismissed, their numbers selected in a random draw, as the judge neared the end of his charge.
Twelve jurors began deliberations around 2:25 p.m. on Thursday.
