CAYUGA—Approximately 100 potential jurors filed into the Superior Court of Justice in Cayuga on Monday, March 24, 2025 to begin the jury selection process for the trial of Randal McKenzie and Brandi Stewart-Sperry, both accused of first-degree murder in the case of slain Haldimand OPP Constable Grzegorz (Greg) Pierzchala.
Both defendants entered a not guilty plea before the court ahead of the jury selection process.
The trial itself is scheduled to begin on Thursday, March 27. Both McKenzie and Stewart-Sperry were previously indicted in the matter at the Cayuga courthouse in August 2023, where the Justice of the Peace at the time ordered the case to go straight to trial, bypassing a preliminary hearing.
At just 28 years old, Pierzchala was shot and killed in the line of duty on December 27, 2022, the same day he successfully completed a 10-month probationary period with the OPP. He was on patrol alone when he responded to a call of a vehicle in a ditch west of Hagersville on Indian Line at approximately 2:30 p.m. Pierzchala was then fatally shot, dying at West Haldimand General Hospital later that day.
It was reported at the time that two people had stolen a vehicle, fled the scene, and were later seen fleeing on foot.
McKenzie and Stewart-Sperry were later apprehended that same evening following a search conducted by OPP Aviation, Emergency Response Team, Canine, Tactics and Rescue, local officers, and members of the Six Nations Police Service. A semi-automatic handgun was seized at the time.
McKenzie, the alleged shooter of Pierzchala, had a history of criminality prior to the shooting, having served a four-year sentence for armed robbery and being the recipient of a lifetime firearms ban in 2018. He was released on March 25, 2021 and was charged again with assault and possession of a firearm in December 2021. Released on bail, McKenzie failed to appear at a hearing on September 6, 2022 and was at large with a warrant for his arrest at the time of the alleged fatal altercation with Pierzchala.
Following Pierzchala’s death, Ontario Premier Doug Ford called for criminal justice reform, citing, “The federal government (needs) to address the revolving door of violent criminals caused by our country’s failed bail system…. Too many innocent people have lost their lives at the hands of dangerous criminals who should have been behind bars – not on our streets. Enough is enough.”
Stay tuned to The Press for more information on the trial as it proceeds.
