On Thursday, jurors at a high-profile murder trial in Cayuga, Ontario, were presented with compelling DNA and video evidence as the prosecution continues its case against two individuals charged in the death of Ontario Provincial Police Constable Greg Pierzchala.
Randall McKenzie and Brandi Stewart-Sperry stand accused of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Const. Pierzchala. The officer was killed on December 27, 2022, while responding to what initially appeared to be a routine call: a car in a ditch on Indian Line near Hagersville, Ont. It turned out to be anything but routine—he was shot six times.
The trial, now unfolding before a jury, took a forensic turn as Renata Dziak, a specialist with the Ontario Centre of Forensic Sciences, testified about the DNA analysis conducted on various items seized during the investigation.
Among the most critical pieces of evidence: a Glock 19 pistol found following McKenzie’s arrest.
According to Dziak, DNA samples were taken from both the slide and grip of the firearm. The results? Four contributors were identified—McKenzie cannot be excluded, she said. In fact, it’s 620 billion times more likely that the DNA came from McKenzie and three unidentified individuals than from four unrelated unknowns.
To put it simply: statistically, the DNA all but screams McKenzie’s name.
Dziak also noted that one of the DNA profiles may belong to the officer who seized the weapon, but Stewart-Sperry’s DNA was not detected on the gun.
Attention then turned to the magazine of the firearm—the part where bullets are loaded. There, Dziak found two DNA profiles and concluded that McKenzie was likely the major contributor. The probability of that DNA belonging to someone else? One in a trillion. Odds that even Vegas wouldn’t touch.
The day’s proceedings also featured testimony from Ron Schistad, a digital video analyst with the OPP. His job? To compare video footage of the shooter, captured by Const. Pierzchala’s body-worn camera, with images of McKenzie.
While Schistad’s full findings haven’t been disclosed, his appearance marked a crucial step in visually linking McKenzie to the scene of the crime.
