Jury finds 2 people guilty of 1st-degree murder in killing of Ontario Const. Greg Pierzchala

A jury in Cayuga, Ont., has found both Randall McKenzie and Brandi Stewart-Sperry guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Ontario Provincial Police Const. Greg Pierzchala.

The jury came in with its verdict around 9 p.m. Thursday after beginning deliberations earlier in the day. The pair received a sentence of life in prison with no eligibility of parole for 25 years, court heard.

Both pleaded not guilty in the Dec. 27, 2022, roadside shooting of the 28-year-old officer, who responded to the co-accused crashing a stolen car into a ditch outside Hagersville.

Their Superior Court trial began in late March and heard from multiple witnesses, including several who were at the scene of the shooting, police involved in the response, and experts on topics including digital video, toxicology and DNA.

The 12 jurors began deliberating Thursday afternoon.

During the trial, Crown prosecutors argued McKenzie shot Pierzchala, and Stewart-Sperry helped him. Neither of the co-accused took the stand.

McKenzie's defence told the jury there should be reasonable doubt as to whether McKenzie was the shooter captured on the officer's bodycam as he shot the man six times.

Stewart-Sperry's defence had argued she was not a participant in the crime and that prosecutors' evidence of her willing participation was "nothing more than speculation and conjecture."

Justice Andrew Goodman charged the jury over two days, instructing them in how to apply the law as they determined their verdict. For McKenzie, the jurors had only to decide whether they believed, beyond a reasonable doubt, that McKenzie was the shooter, Goodman said.

For his co-accused, the jury had to weigh several factors.

The justice had provided members with a flow chart taking them through a series of questions and asking whether Stewart-Sperry helped or encouraged the shooter to commit first-degree murder, or was engaged in a committing another crime for which the shooting was a likely consequence.