Greg Fertuck says he won't take the stand in his murder trial

The end is near for a first-degree murder trial spanning more than two years.

Greg Fertuck told the court he will not take the stand in his own trial and has no further evidence to call — concluding the evidence portion of the trial.

Fertuck is accused of killing his estranged wife, Sheree Fertuck. The 51-year-old woman went missing in 2015 near Kenaston, Sask. Her body has never been found.

Fertuck is representing himself. His original lawyers withdrew from the case after Fertuck went behind their backs and made complaints about them to the Law Society of Saskatchewan.

The trial began September 2021 and has been filled with delays — largely driven by COVID-19 and the discovery of the alleged murder weapon.

Fertuck and the Crown prosecutors are scheduled to make their closing arguments on Monday.

Fertuck will go first, followed by the Crown, and a potential rebuttal by Fertuck.

Justice Richard Danyliuk advised Fertuck the rebuttal "is not a rite of re-arguing everything you argued the first time," but rather a chance to address specific statements made by the Crown that he didn't initially address.

Fertuck has been given permission to work on his closing arguments at the courthouse, rather than the jail.

The Crown's strongest piece of evidence is an undercover police video of Fertuck admitting to shooting Sheree at a gravel pit, where she worked.

The hidden camera captured Fertuck acting out the shooting, using his cane to imitate the rifle.

A key witness for the defence, Mary Ellen Lowdermilk, said she saw Sheree's semi truck pass her farmhouse at around 5 p.m. on the day Sheree went missing — disputing the Crown's timeline.

"This is a complex case with a huge amount of evidence," Danyliuk said.