Defence claims accused cop-killer couldn’t have foreseen fatal shooting

Defence lawyer Scott Reid says the prosecution has not proven that Brandi Stewart-Sperry knew that the man accused of killing Const. Greg Pierzchala had a gun or what he intended to do on the day of the fatal shooting.

Reid says if she didn’t know, then she’s not guilty of murder.

Pierzchala was 28 years old and had just passed probation as an OPP Constable when he was shot and killed on a road near Hagersville in December 2022 while responding to a car in a ditch.

Randall McKenzie and Stewart-Sperry are both charged with first degree murder.

But Reid says there’s no evidence she knew about the gun in advance, and said “if she doesn’t know about the gun and doesn’t know about his intention then there’s no way she can be convicted of murder.”

He called the “prosecution theory” that Stewart-Sperry is guilty “the worst kind of guilt by association you can imagine.”

He added that Stewart-Spetty is an admitted drug addict who was high on drugs that day and couldn’t have foreseen the shooting or taken part in it.

The lawyer told the jury that his client is flawed and may have many flaws, but being a killer isn’t one of them.

The Prosecution and McKenzie’s defence lawyer have already presented their closing arguments, with McKenzie’s lawyer saying his client’s description didn’t match the shooter in the video of the killing.

The Crown argues that “the evidence that Randall McKenzie is the shooter is overwhelming.”

The next step is for the judge to complete his charge to the jury, giving them their directions, and then the jury will begin their deliberations on a verdict.

READ MORE: Closing Crown and defence arguments in murder trial of slain OPP officer