The trial of two people accused in the shooting death of an OPP officer has heard that the car in a ditch at the site of the alleged murder was stolen the previous day.
Ontario Provincial Police Const. Grzegorz Pierzchala was shot on Dec. 27, 2022, while responding to a vehicle in the ditch west of Hagersville, Ont., near Brantford.
Randall McKenzie and Brandi Stewart-Sperry were each charged with first-degree murder and both have pleaded not guilty.
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An agreed statement of fact prosecutors read in court today says a man had his Nissan Armada stolen from a restaurant parking lot in Hamilton on Dec. 26.
It says that same Nissan was in the ditch at the scene where 28-year-old Pierzchala was fatally shot the next day.
The statement of fact also says several stolen items, including vehicle permit papers and a car key fob from other people, were found in Stewart-Sperry’s backpack at the time of her arrest.
The Crown has said it is looking to prove that McKenzie was the shooter and that Stewart-Sperry intentionally helped him.
The jury trial is taking place in Cayuga, Ont., a community near Hagersville, and it is expected to last six weeks.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Car in ditch at scene of OPP officer’s death was stolen, murder trial hears
