News Release
Update: SIU Identifies Man Fatally Shot in Haliburton County
Case Number: 20-PFD-173
In accordance with the Special Investigations Unit’s name release policy which requires consent from next of kin, the Unit is now able to identify 73-year-old Leslie Hegedus as the man who was fatally shot on July 15, 2020, in Haliburton County during an interaction with Ontario Provincial Police officers. The SIU had submitted a DNA sample to the Centre of Forensic Sciences (CFS) to establish a possible next-of-kin for Mr. Hegedus, and the results were received this week.
The SIU’s investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Hegedus is ongoing. So far, five civilian witnesses and four witness officers were interviewed. Another officer was designated as a witness officer, but investigators only requested the notes. Both officers who were designated as subject officers consented to interviews and submitted their notes. A post-mortem was conducted on July 17, 2020, and the SIU is in possession of those results. A firearm that was collected at the scene as well as the firearms of the two subject officers were sent to the CFS for analysis, and investigators are awaiting those results.
If you or someone you know is an affected person in need of support, please call the Affected Persons Program General Referral Line at 1-877-641-1897 or click here for more information: siu.on.ca/en/apc.php
The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials (police officers as well as special constables with the Niagara Parks Commission and peace officers with the Legislative Protective Service) that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person. All investigations are conducted by SIU investigators who are civilians. Under the Special Investigations Unit Act, the Director of the SIU must
- consider whether the official has committed a criminal offence in connection with the incident under investigation
- depending on the evidence, cause a criminal charge to be laid against the official where grounds exist for doing so, or close the file without any charges being laid
- publicly report the results of its investigations