Closing arguments, deliberation underway this week
CAYUGA — Randall McKenzie and Brandi Stewart-Sperry, the pair accused in the first-degree murder of Haldimand OPP Constable Greg Pierzchala on December 27, 2022, will not testify in the trial that is nearing a final verdict at the Cayuga courthouse.
Last week, Justice Andrew Goodman predicted that jury deliberation could begin by Thursday, April 24, 2025 following closing arguments earlier in the week.
Week four of the trial was shortened, with the Crown presenting their final two witnesses on Tuesday, April 15. Those witnesses were toxicologist Nadia Pace and Kyle Aspinwall, a retired US police officer who now works as a sales manager for Glock firearms, flown in to testify from New Hampshire.
Pace testified on the subject of fentanyl and other substances found in a blood sample taken from Stewart-Sperry the day of the shooting.
“The desirable effects of fentanyl when someone is taking it therapeutically is for analgesia or for pain relief; someone who is using fentanyl recreationally is seeking to obtain euphoric effects or feelings of extreme pleasure,” testified Page, who said that Stewart-Sperry had fentanyl in addition to trace amounts of other drugs, including amphetamine, in her blood on the day of the shooting.
Pace gave a thorough description of the different ways the drugs found could impair a person, noting that factors such as how the drug is ingested, a person’s tolerance, and more can create a variety of impacts.
She testified that the Centre of Forensic Sciences did not receive blood samples related to the case until a year and a half later, noting the possibility that said samples could have been impacted by their prolonged time inside the tubes they were collected in.
Scott Reid, defence for Stewart-Sperry, asked Pace to confirm the different effects the drugs found in her blood sample could generate.
“Fentanyl, you report, has been known to cause dizziness, incoordination, varying degrees of sedation. It’s not in your report, but it can also cause a decrease in alertness, (which) might be related to the sedation effects,” said Reid. “Can it cause confusion?”
Pace answered yes to each of Reid’s above statements, and answered, “It can cause confusion, also related to the decrease in alertness and potential sedation.”
Pace said the effects of the various drugs detected in Stewart-Sperry’s blood would lead to “more pronounced effects … predominantly sedation.”
Aspinwall said in his testimony that the Glock 19 used in the shooting had been modified in “at least two ways I can see.”
Those items were a clip that allowed the user to fasten the gun to their waistband without using a holster – described by Aspinwall as an unsafe way to carry a gun – and a grip plug that allows for faster reloading.
With neither defence team electing to submit evidence or call witnesses to the stand, the closing arguments of defence attorneys Reid and Douglas Holt (which took place between Tuesday, April 22 and Thursday, April 24, after our weekly publication deadline) will lay out the reasoning behind the pair’s not guilty pleas.
On Wednesday, April 16 prior to closing arguments, Justice Andrew Goodman spoke to the 14 assembled jurors, telling them, “That’s the last evidence you’ll hear in the case,” before notifying them that only 12 of the 14 would be part of the voting process, with the two removals completed through a random selection process.
“I know that’s disappointing,” said Goodman.
Stay tuned to next week’s Press for a breakdown of closing arguments and a potential final update on the outcome of the trial.
