Brother of man accused in OPP officer’s death says he saw the two suspects that day

The brother of a man accused of fatally shooting a provincial police officer says he found the two accused killers inside a trailer on his property on the afternoon of the alleged murder.

Richard McKenzie told court today that he received a text message from his neighbour that afternoon saying there were police in the area, and he told his brother to leave the trailer because he didn’t “want nothing to do with what you’re doing.”

McKenzie’s younger brother Randall McKenzie, along with Brandi Stewart-Sperry, are on trial for the murder of Ontario Provincial Police Const. Grzegorz Pierzchala.

READ MORE: Case of duo charged in murder of OPP Const. Grzegorz Pierzchala put over to February

Both have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.

The officer was shot on Dec. 27, 2022, while responding to a vehicle in a ditch west of Hagersville, Ont., near Brantford.

The elder McKenzie testified in front of a jury that he learned an incident had happened nearby the following day on social media.

The jury trial is taking place in Cayuga, Ont., a community near Hagersville, and it is expected to last six weeks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 7, 2025.