The sister of a Haliburton man, killed in an altercation with OPP July 15, 2020, said her estranged sibling had grown up in Budapest, Hungary, where he was exposed to the Hungarian uprising at the age of 10.
In a statement read to a coroner’s inquest into the death of Leslie Hegedus, 73, his sister, Eileen Ross gave some insight April 22 into her brother’s upbringing.
She said Hegedus was born in 1946. The 1956 revolution was an attempted countrywide movement against the government of the Hungarian People’s Republic, and the policies caused by the government’s subordination to the Soviet Union. The Soviet army crushed the rebellion.
Ross said her brother was exposed to “death and destruction” on the streets of Budapest. Their father was captured and never able to leave Hungary. A Toronto cousin sponsored she, Leslie and their mother to come to Canada.
Ross said that from an early age, Hegedus had difficulty in social development.
“My mother tried to get help for him from doctors, but found limited support through church, Boy Scouts, and Big Brothers,” Ross said. She added while undiagnosed, she thinks her brother was on the Autism spectrum, possibly suffering Aspergers.
Ross said her brother became a licensed electrician, working in construction.
She said he severed all contact with his family, but actively participated in a car enthusiast club, travelling the world to meet other car enthusiasts and judging events. “He seemed always to be singularly, obsessively focused.”
She said he retired at 60 and built a small house in the forest of Haliburton, where he lived alone, close to nature, eating healthy, and leaving a light impact on the environment. She said he never smoked, there was no sign of drug use, and the only alcohol in his house was quality red wine. She added his home had no television, computer, mobile or landline phones, and he possessed no credit cards.
Coroner’s inquest into OPP shooting wraps up
“He seemingly became more reclusive, paranoid and obsessive” spending his time building his house, restoring vintage cars and reading.
Ross said there were hundreds of books in his house, many on politics, including biographies of world leaders. However, there was “no evidence of any political association or ideology. Many books were about adventure and nature, of man living alone in the wilderness, surviving adversity, and observing nature.” She said he had made daily notations on his calendar about weather and the birds and animals on his property.
In the statement, read by inquest counsel Kim Motyl, Ross said, “I am grateful that nobody else was killed or seriously injured in this altercation. I’m comforted that Leslie was not driven by hateful ideology. I regret that Leslie did not want me in his life, and that I was not there to support him. We seem to have had much in common. My hope is that more services will be available for the recognition and support for children and adults struggling in life.”
Inquest underway
Dr. Jennifer Clara Tang is the presiding officer of the inquest that got underway this past Monday. She explained that in the event of police shootings, coroner’s inquests are mandatory.
Motyl also addressed Hegedus’ “difficult and turbulent” childhood in her remarks to the five-person jury in a virtual inquest, referencing the permanent separation from his father.
“Mr. Hegedus was prone to aggressive overreaction, especially to perceived slights and insults.” She commented on his distancing himself from family. She said in addition to his affinity for cars, he had an interest in firearms.
Motyl said he didn’t speak to neighbours. She said in 2010, he’d run two men off his property who were attempting to cut the lock at the gate of his long driveway. He didn’t have a firearms license and wasn’t permitted to own them after that incident, However, there were two complaints to OPP from neighbours in 2011 about gunshots on the property. However, Hegedus denied owning or firing weapons.
She related a tale of a building inspector, in 2015 or 2016, visiting the property. Upon finding issues with the build, he drew the ire of Hegedus and feared for his life.
“Mr. Hegedus became angry and started yelling, ‘how dare you come on my property? How dare you come and tell me what I can and cannot do on my property? This is my house, and I should be able to heat the house however I want’.”
Referencing the reason for the inquest – the events of July 15, 2020 – Motyl said Hegedus went to the Valu-Mart in Minden, where an elderly grocery clerk asked him to put on a mask during COVID-19 mask mandates. Hegedus refused, “repeatedly punching the clerk in the head.”
The inquest heard how Hegedus was pushed out the door by staff and customers and 911 was called. Driving away, he struck several parked cars and drove his vehicle at employees, hitting a concrete pillar. Speeding away on Hwy. 35 N, and then County Road 21, the jury heard he tried to run a police car off the road so dispatch called off the pursuit.
Police tracked Hegedus’ license plate to find his Indian Point Road home.
The inquest heard from Sgt. John Spence who said that after fleeing Valu-Mart and arriving at his property, a camouflaged Hegedus had armed himself with a rifle, a pistol, ammunition, and a knife, and fired at police. They returned fire and Hegedus received a fatal gunshot wound in his back. Despite attempts to treat him on the scene and en route to Haliburton hospital, he was pronounced dead at the ER at 11:47 a.m.
The jury came back with two recommendations Wednesday afternoon, addressed to the Ontario Provincial Police. It asked them to:
• Review all directives relating to Emergency Response Team uniforms to ensure that officer compliance with said directives does not adversely impact officer safety or officer response time.
• Review all directives and policies relating to the OPP communications centre to ensure, where known, complete and accurate addresses, including postal codes, are provided to responding officers to maximize officer response time.
