Two people accused of murder in the 2022 death of a provincial police officer intentionally killed the constable and fled from the scene in a stolen vehicle because they had "dwindling options" to avoid arrest, the Crown argued Tuesday in its closing submission to the jury.
The defence lawyer for one of the accused, however, argued there is enough reasonable doubt for the jury to find his client not guilty.
Ontario Provincial Police Const. Grzegorz Pierzchala was shot on Dec. 27, 2022 while responding to a vehicle in a ditch west of Hagersville, Ont., near Brantford.
Randall McKenzie and Brandi Stewart-Sperry were each charged with first-degree murder in the 28-year-old officer's death. Both have pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutor Fraser McCracken argued in his closing submissions that McKenzie was the shooter and that Stewart-Sperry intentionally helped him.
An agreed statement of fact prosecutors read earlier in the trial said a man had his Nissan Armada stolen from a restaurant parking lot in Hamilton on Dec. 26.
That same car was in the ditch where Pierzchala was killed, the statement read. Later, several stolen items, including vehicle permit papers and a car key fob belonging to other people, were found in Stewart-Sperry's backpack at the time of her arrest.
"Both Randall McKenzie and Brandi Stewart-Sperry, together as a team and separately as individuals, had a problem. If the police came to the scene, they were going to get arrested," McCracken argued.
McCracken outlined how Pierzchala's body camera footage showed him arriving at the scene in a fully marked OPP cruiser with the emergency lights on, and how the officer had told the suspects his camera was recording audio and video.
"They're left with two options: surrender and submit to arrest, or eliminate the threat presented to them by Pierzchala."
The Crown argued there is "overwhelming" evidence that McKenzie was the shooter, pointing to traces of the accused's DNA being found on the gun and ditched car.
An expert had testified earlier in the trial that gunshot residue was found in the front pocket of a hoodie McKenzie was wearing at the time of his arrest, McCracken said, and the pocket had a hole in it.
"He is who the evidence establishes shot and killed Pierzchala," McCracken said.
He pointed to further testimony from a witness who had told the court she saw the suspects trying to get into her black Chevy Silverado after she had pulled over at the side of the road to offer help at the sight of a ditched car.
"Why were they trying to get into the Silverado? Well, I talked to you about dwindling options — dwindling options to avoid detection and arrest by the police," McCracken argued, pointing to evidence presented in the trial that the suspects stole the Silverado and sped off from the scene, leaving Pierzchala on the road.
In his own closing remarks to the jury, McKenzie's lawyer Douglas Holt cast doubt on the evidence presented to the jury.
He said some of the witnesses' descriptions of the shooter did not match his client's appearance at the time, including testimony that the shooter had "yellow, rotten teeth."
Holt also said the shooter's face is "covered up by a hood" in the video footage from Pierzchala's body camera and that some witnesses got a "much better" look at the perpetrator.
Those witnesses failed to note some of McKenzie's distinct facial tattoos, such as a cross etched in the middle of his forehead, Holt argued.
"There's a reasonable inference that Randall and the shooter are not one and the same," Holt said.
The defence lawyer also urged the jury to consider the fact that the gun used to kill Pierzchala didn't just have McKenzie's DNA on it, but several other DNA profiles as well. Holt argued that indicates his client did not have "exclusive" control and possession of the gun.
He also said that although Pierzchala was shot six times, only one shell casing was recovered by police – even though they "thoroughly" searched the scene, McKenzie and his belongings.
"There’s a reasonable inference that the shell casings are somewhere else," Holt said, suggesting that casts further doubt about McKenzie being the shooter.
The prosecutor told the jury that Stewart-Sperry had known that McKenzie had a gun because they were in a relationship, and that she and McKenzie fled from the scene after the shooting and did not stay behind to try and help the officer.
Pierzchala's body camera footage shows Stewart-Sperry stepping forward between Pierzchala and McKenzie, McCracken argued, so McKenzie could ready the gun.
"What she does is exactly what Randall McKenzie needed her to do in that moment to be able to ambush Greg Pierzchala," McCracken told the jury.
"Ask yourself this: Why did Brandy Stewart-Sperry react the way she did after she stepped between Randall McKenzie and Greg Pierzchala? After Randall stepped out from behind her and ambushed him, after Greg Pierzchala collapsed right in front of her? She reacted that way because she knew it was going to happen," he said.
The jury is expected to hear closing arguments from Stewart-Sperry's defence lawyer on Wednesday.
The trial has heard from multiple witnesses, including some who had stopped at the side of the road after spotting the car in the ditch, law enforcement officials involved in the investigation and relatives of McKenzie who testified they had seen the accused pair the afternoon of the alleged murder.
The trial is taking place in Cayuga, Ont., a community near Hagersville, and jury deliberations are expected to begin later this week.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2025.
Rianna Lim, The Canadian Press
