Year in review: Top 10 local news stories of 2025

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#1 of 2025: Guilty verdicts in death of OPP Const. Greg Pierzchala

#2 of 2025: Trial begins in triple stabbing

#3 of 2025: Fence feud heats up between Kitchener neighbours

#4 of 2025: Condo confusion in Kitchener

#5 of 2025: Job losses and campus closures at Conestoga College

#6 of 2025: LCBO thefts caught on camera

#7 of 2025: Honour systems put to the test

#8 of 2025: Senior talked into signing up for pricey skincare package

#9 of 2025: Bats found at Brantford daycare

#10 of 2025: Explosive outburst caught on camera

CTV Kitchener is taking a look back the biggest moments of 2025.

We’re revisiting the local stories that defined the year and changed our community.

Watch CTV Kitchener News at Six as we continue our countdown and check back for new additions to our list!

You can click the links below to read our original reporting or watch the stories in the video player at the top of this page.

10. Realtor fired after explosive exchange with Cambridge, Ont. resident

An explosive outburst caught on camera in Cambridge, Ont. landed a local realtor in hot water in April.

Broker Jeff Blackham was seen shouting profanities and a homophobic slur at a woman in her vehicle.

Lisa Di Pasqua told CTV News she was driving down her street when she saw Blackham filming a video. She didn’t know what he was doing but, when she tried to pull into her driveway, she said she was waved away.

Di Pasqua then parked on the street and took a call in her car. When she got out, she said he motioned her again to move her car.

That’s when the situation took a dramatic turn.

“He just came up to my Jeep, like inches from my face with the middle finger and started swearing profanities at me, using the f-bomb, and I used it back because I was like, ‘What the heck? Why are you in my space?’” Di Pasqua recalled at the time.

“I told him to get out of my space with an f-bomb and get away from me.”

The fiery exchange was caught on camera and posted online, racking up thousands of clicks. The video also caught the attention of the man involved.

At the time, Blackham told CTV News he wanted to address the “serious mistake” he made.

“I take full responsibility for my words and the harm they’ve caused, particularly to members of the LGBTQ+ community,” he said in a statement. “I am truly sorry, and I’m committed to learning and making meaningful change.”

Blackham was terminated from Keller Williams Realty following the incident.

“I feel bad, of course, because no, I didn’t want him to lose his job,” Di Pasqua said in April. “But I want him to take accountability.”

In December, Di Pasqua said she hadn’t heard from Blackham since the incident, but had received messages of support from people who saw the video online.

CTV News also reached out to Blackham for an updated comment but did not receive a response. According to his online realtor profile, he currently works at a brokerage based in Toronto. https://www.realtor.ca/agent/2016122/jeff-blackham-1-edgewater-drive-suite-216-toronto-ontario-m5a0l1

- Reporting by Alexandra Holyk

9. Discovery of rabies-positive bat prompts closure of Brantford daycare

A Brantford daycare was forced to close in August after a bat found inside the building tested positive for rabies.

The animal was discovered inside a room used by preschool-aged children at Creative Minds Daycare. The following day, a second bat was seen flying in a stairwell.

Officials at the daycare confirmed the dead bat was handled by a child and a staff member. It was then sent to Grand Erie Public Health for further testing.

Two days later, on Aug. 13, the health unit received lab results confirming the bat had a positive test for rabies.

The daycare was immediately shut down.

Health officials called the overall risk low, although some children were given precautionary rabies treatment.

Additionally, wildlife crews were called to check entry points into the building, complete any necessary structural repairs and get rid of anything that might have been contaminated by the bats.

A public health inspector later conducted a full sweep of the building, confirming no additional bat activity and that all infection-control standards had been met.

On Aug. 18, Creative Minds Daycare was given the all-clear to reopen its doors.

After news broke of the rabies-positive bat, some parents reached out to CTV News to express their concerns over how the discovery was communicated to families. The daycare owner called the ordeal a “learning process” and pledged communication would be their focus moving forward.

The daycare now conducts a daily pre-opening bat checklist and, as of Dec. 10, 2025, has not found any signs of bats in or around the building.

- Reporting by Hannah Schmidt

8. Controversial contracts for skincare products

CTV News heard from many people who felt they got scammed into signing pricey skincare product contracts with Resveralife, which operated out of local malls.

One of them was Brenda Lampman, 73, who was locked into a nearly $6,000 contract after she said an employee at the Conestoga Mall location used aggressive sales tactics to get her to unknowingly sign the agreement.

It was only when her daughter questioned the contract, and demanded a copy of it from the store, that they realized what Lampman had signed.

The mother and daughter tried to get out of it by returning the products, but that did not work.

Then, several months later, a lawyer with the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly saw CTV News’ original story and got in touch with the point-of-sale financing company Lendcare, who oversaw the contract.

Lendcare agreed to close Lampman’s loan by October.

In early November, an eviction notice appeared on the doors of the Conestoga Mall store, indicating the lease had been terminated due to non-payment of rent.

CTV News made multiple attempts to contact Resveralife to see if Lampman got off lucky, and whether any other customers that owed money were still on the hook. Those recent requests for information went unanswered.

While Lampman and other local customers consider the closure at Conestoga Mall a win, she continues to urge shoppers to learn from her mistake because Resveralife still has stores in Guelph and Brantford.

- Reporting by Spencer Turcotte

7. Shoppers steal from businesses using the honour system

Businesses in Waterloo Region and beyond are standing by their decision to use the honour system for payment, despite a recent rise in thefts.

This year, Shuh Orchards in West Montrose and The Rustic Oven in Puslinch both said they dealt with some bad apples, resulting in significant losses.

“It’s amazing to do the honour system but at the same time, it opens you up to a lot of risk of people taking advantage,” Sydney Saunders, owner of The Rustic Oven, told CTV News in September.

The Rustic Oven is a roadside stand that offers homemade sourdough baked goods. Customers can pay online or put money into a cash box at the stand. However, she said she’s lost hundreds of dollars to theft since opening earlier this year.

“They don’t steal the money, they steal the baked goods,” she explained.

At Shuh Orchards, owner Tim Shuh said he had to change his farm’s pick-your-own policies as a result of theft. The new rules included a ban on strollers, limiting areas for apple picking, and only using bags provided by the farm.

“It takes a lot of labour, a lot of input costs, and that’s what’s the most disappointing for us,” Shuh said in an interview in September. “We put everything we have into this, and stealing just has no place in this country.”

Dr. Simon Sherry, a clinical psychologist based in Halifax, said bad actors tend to act out of selfishness.

“People who tend to lie, cheat, steal and manipulate also tend to be callous and low on empathy,” he explained. “They’re not thinking about consequences of their actions for other people. They don’t care.”

Not honouring the honour system can also have serious consequences. In September, Waterloo Regional Police charged a 39-year-old Guelph woman for stealing apples from Shuh Orchards.

In spite of those incidents, both businesses said their faith in customers hasn’t been shaken.

- Reporting by Alexandra Holyk

6. LCBO Thefts

Allegedly thirsty thieves were making headlines this year for a rash of brazen booze thefts.

Suspects were spotted walking into LCBO stores, loading bottles into bags, and then simply walking out the doors, sometimes with thousands of dollars worth of stolen products.

It’s an issue that caught the eye of Ontario Premier Doug Ford over the summer.

On Aug. 23, six men walked into the LCBO at Pioneer Park in Kitchener and took an estimated $8,000 worth of alcohol.

A few days later, the premier called the men a “brazen bunch of crooks” during a self-professed “crime rant” at a press conference.

“We’ve gotta catch these guys and throw them in jail,” Premier Ford said in August. “They just do not care.”

That was just one of many thefts from local LCBOs this year.

“We’ve had over 900 LCBO-related calls this year already. We’ve laid over 500 charges,” Waterloo Regional Police Service Deputy Chief Jan Davis said.

“These things are very difficult. A stolen vehicle is often involved and if people don’t ‘come forward and point you to a suspect, sometimes it’s very difficult to identify one,” Chris Lewis, former OPP Commissioner and CTV News public safety analyst, said.

There was at least one high-profile sentencing this year involving LCBO store thefts.

A man who had pleaded guilty to stealing more than $300,000 worth of products from the stores was sentenced to five years in prison.

He was initially suspected in 110 similar thefts across Ontario, including 10 in Guelph. Other areas included Centre Wellington, Fort Erie, Barrie, Kingston, Milton, London, Cambridge, Kitchener and Mississauga.

The Guelph Police Service said investigators tracked the suspect to St. Catharines on May 5, 2024. He and another man were found sleeping in a car, which police said was linked to some of the thefts.

With help from members of the Niagara Regional Police Service, officers blocked the vehicle in. The man woke up, realized what was happening and rammed several of the cruisers with the vehicle in an attempt to flee, police said in a news release.

He was unsuccessful and was taken into custody.

The suspect, who police did not name, eventually pleaded guilty to a long list of charges, including several counts of theft over $5,000, theft of a motor vehicle, dangerous driving and assault with a weapon.

He was sentenced to five years in prison, less the time he spent behind bars since his May 2024 arrest. The man was also prohibited from driving for three years.

The LCBO’s chief retail officer, John Summers, said they take shop theft seriously and are committed to ensuring shopping or working at their stores is a safe experience.

“The outcome of the Guelph Police Service investigation is the culmination of many months of work by the LCBO’s Resource Protection team,” Summers said, in part, in a statement to CTV News.

“Every time there is an incident in our stores, our employees and security guards complete incident reports; these are critical in helping to build evidence and track patterns across our network. Meanwhile, our investigators leverage data and analytics, gather evidence, conduct discreet monitoring and work closely with police services to help hold criminals accountable.”

He said this is one of more than 1,000 theft-related arrested that have been made in the last eight months as the LCBO continues to work with police services across the province.

-Reporting by Colton Wiens

5. Job cuts and campus closures at Conestoga College

Conestoga College was in the spotlight several times this year as hundreds of people were laid off, campuses were shuttered and some programs came to an end.

In March, the school’s president, John Tibbets, told staff several administrative positions had been eliminated. The memo from Tibbits also warned there would be support staff layoffs.

He attributed to move to the federal government’s cap on international students. Throughout the year, school representatives would reiterate that stance, saying declining international enrolment was causing the school financial strain.

Approximately 180 of Conestoga College’s support staff were either laid off or reassigned in April. Officials with the union that represents those employees said they had never seen that kind of staff reduction in the college’s history.

In September, the school offered a voluntary exit incentive program to 373 full-time faculty members. Eligible employees had until Oct. 20 to accept the college’s offer. Successful candidates would officially leave their roles on Dec. 19. The offer came as support staff at the college were in their second week of a province-wide strike.

In December, just days before Christmas, more layoffs came to light in two separate announcements. The first happened on Dec. 16, when layoff notices were issued to 181 full-time employees. Two days later, 197 support staff also learned they were losing their jobs as well.

“I am deeply angered by the decision made by Dr. John Tibbits and senior leadership to send notices of layoff and reassignment during the holiday season,” wrote Vikki Poirier, president of Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) Local 238, in an email to members. “Over the past six months, both local unions have been actively engaging with college leadership, asking questions and presenting numerous alternative proposals. We have highlighted alternative ways the college could save money and proposed strategies to increase revenue. We have considered the Collective Agreement, exploring alternatives for maintaining employment stability. Unfortunately, our suggestions were largely ignored.”

In a statement the school said, in part, that the decisions were “difficult but necessary.”

“Without significant reductions in operating costs, the college faces a fiscal deficit. To achieve a balanced budget, we must align our resources with the reality that we have lost thousands of international students and will likely continue to be impacted, given the recent announcement of further reductions to international student caps for 2026-2028. Simply put, we no longer require the same complement of faculty, staff and administrators as in 2024,” the statement continued.

Those weren’t the only cost saving measures the school tried to employ.

In April, Conestoga College announced its campus at 274 Colborne Street in Brantford and 49 Frederick Street in Kitchener would be consolidating with other nearby locations when their leases expired. The Kitchener location transitioned to 1 Young Street while in Brantford, operations moved to 50 Wellington Street.

The college’s finances came under scrutiny, particularly because in August, the school had reported a surplus of more than $121 million for the fiscal year ending in March 31. It represented a large drop from the $252 million surplus the school had posted the previous year.

Conestoga College said its revenue from tuition dropped to $563 million, $119 million less than it reported in 2024.

The school also said it spent $436 million on salaries and benefits, an increase of $37 million from the year before.

Tibbits was once again included on Ontario’s Sunshine List with a salary of more than $630,000, making him the highest paid public sector worker in Waterloo Region and Guelph.

This year, college officials announced they had begun their search for a new president and CEO. They hoped to have the position filled by March 2026.

- Reporting by Karis Mapp

4. Buyers felt ‘blindsided’ by condominium developer

There was confusion and frustration for people who bought into a condo project in Kitchener after years of turmoil.

Construction began on a large four-tower project at 1333 Weber Street in Kitchener, which was then known as Elevate Condos, in 2020. The original plan was to build 622 new homes by 2029.

After a number of financial issues, the project went bankrupt in 2024.

ELM Developments was brought in to finish the job – but they were on a tight timeline to get the apartments ready for the end of September.

A final occupancy date of Sept. 19 was set for the first tower. It meant the developer either had to meet a bare minimum standard of completion or buyers would be able to terminate their contracts.

Although the developer met the deadline, the result was not what buyers were expecting.

“There’s boarded up windows still. There’s leaks in the sprinkler system in the parking garage,” Ana Stanivuk and Jordan Bezeau told CTV News in September, adding that the hallways were also filthy.

While it was less than ideal, the City of Kitchener said it met the minimum level of completion for occupancy, which included fire and safety systems, but did take things like cleanliness or finishings in corridors into account.

Some of the buyers asked to be let out of the contracts they signed in 2020.

“It was always stated that we would have the option to get our deposit back,” buyer Ajay Louis explained.

Instead, he was told to pick up keys to an apartment he no longer thought he owned.

“I felt totally blindsided,” Louis said.

ELM Developments insisted they never offered to release buyers from their contracts.

Some of the buyers defaulted, meaning they could be sued by the developer for the full cost of the unit, plus their deposit.

- Reporting by Jeff Pickel

3. Fence feud between Kitchener neighbours heats up

A homeowner in Kitchener had an ongoing feud with his neighbour over a fence.

Peter Christodoulou hired a contractor in 2023 to install a fence around his entire backyard, both for the privacy of his family and their dog.

Christodoulou attached his new fence to two of his neighbour’s existing fence posts, telling CTV News they were only a few inches from the property line.

“I’m not going to put a second line of a fence because somebody doesn’t want me to join to their two posts, right?”

In 2024, Christodoulou said the neighbour chopped down his own fence, leaving only a small gap for privacy.

The neighbour did not want to appear on camera but told CTV News he tried unsuccessfully to speak with Christodoulou twice before the fence was built.

Christodoulou considered moving following the incident as his wife didn’t feel comfortable in her own backyard.

The neighbour, meantime, said he would seek his own legal counsel.

As of December 2025, Christodoulou said not much had changed. The only exception was that city workers had trimmed down his neighbour’s posts.

- Reporting by Heather Senoran

2. Kitchener man awaits his sentence for triple stabbing

Nearly three years after a triple stabbing at a home on Cayley Court in Kitchener, the trial began for the man accused of carrying out that attack.

Dylon Moreira pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and multiple counts of attempted murder and aggravated assault for the November 2022 stabbings. His 41-year-old girlfriend was killed, while his 51-year-old mother and girlfriend’s 7-year-old daughter were seriously hurt.

Several of the Waterloo Regional Police officers who attended the scene that day took the stand to testify over the course of the trial.

“When you picture a horror film, I just remember seeing blood everywhere,” said WRPS Const. Ashley Vanderkolk.

Other officers recalled seeing injured dogs inside the home.

Multiple doctors also took the stand to analyze the victims’ wounds and their severity.

Perhaps the most emotional testimony came from the young female victim, who is now 10 years old.

Court heard the girl’s brother put a virus on Moreira’s computer and that’s what allegedly sent him into a fit of rage the day of the attack.

“I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, ‘We hate you, Dylon,’” the young girl testified, recalling the night Moreira went on the stabbing spree.

Moreira’s own mother said her son was struggling at the time and had a lot of anger. On the night of the stabbings, she told the court she tried to hide in a bathroom, but her son overpowered her.

“He had a knife. He must have, because I was being stabbed. Blood just started coming out of me,” Moreira’s mother said, adding that she still loved her son.

A forensic scientist, who conducted a toxicology report based on Moreira’s blood sample, said multiple drugs were found in his system, including methamphetamine and haloperidol, an anti-psychotic drug.

Moreira opted to take the stand in his own defence. Much of his testimony centred around the idea that his girlfriend stabbed him first after their argument about the virus on his computer escalated. He claimed he acted in self-defence.

“I stabbed [her]. The voices were telling me to protect myself,” Moreira said.

His girlfriend was stabbed 21 times.

Moreira’s fate now lies in the hands of Justice Gibson. He is expected to deliver a decision on whether Moreira is guilty or not guilty on Jan. 23, 2026.

- Reporting by Spencer Turcotte

1. Pair found guilty of first-degree murder in death of OPP Const. Greg Pierzchala

The trial of two people accused of killing an OPP officer sent shockwaves across the province and ended with two verdicts of first-degree murder.

Constable Greg Pierzchala was fatally shot on Dec. 27, 2022, while responding to what seemed like a routine call – a vehicle in a ditch on a winter day, on a rural road near Hagersville, Ont.

Pierzchala was only 28 years old and had learned the morning of his death he had passed his probationary period with the Haldimand County detachment of Ontario Provincial Police.

Randall McKenzie and Brandi Stewart-Sperry were both charged with killing Pierzchala.

For four weeks in a small Cayuga, Ont. courthouse, in the spring of 2025, jurors heard and saw the evidence in the case.

They were tasked with determining if McKenzie was the shooter, and if Stewart-Sperry – who admitted to being at the scene – aided in the killing.

The evidence presented included video from Pierzchala’s body camera, which showed him being shot within moments of arriving at the scene.

Jurors also saw surveillance video of the shooter and Stewart-Sperry fleeing in a stolen truck and heading to a property on Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, where members of McKenzie’s family lived. An OPP helicopter with a thermal imaging camera then captured the arrests of McKenzie and Stewart-Sperry. McKenzie threw something from his hand before he surrendered, which turned out to be a Glock 19 handgun.

The Crown made the case that McKenzie was the shooter and Stewart-Sperry distracted the officer while the gun was being loaded, while McKenzie’s lawyer argued there were gaps in the testimony that created reasonable doubt and Stewart-Sperry’s legal team said there wasn’t enough evidence to prove she helped McKenzie.

The jury deliberated for about six-and-a-half hours before reaching a verdict on April 24.

In a courtroom packed with OPP officers, Randall McKenzie and Brandi Stewart-Sperry were found guilty of first-degree murder. They were immediately given an automatic sentence of life in prison with no parole eligibility for 25 years.

Within days, both had appealed the verdicts. The appeals are still in the early stages, with only documents filed and transcripts ordered and prepared.

- Reporting by Krista Simpson