Greg Fertuck to be sentenced Thursday

Greg Fertuck, who is guilty of the first-degree murder of his estranged wife, will face his sentencing hearing Thursday afternoon.

On June 14, Fertuck was found guilty of first-degree murder and offering an indignity to human remains in the death of Sheree Fertuck.

Justice Richard Danyliuk said Fertuck planned to kill his estranged wife in a gravel pit near Kenaston, Sask. in 2015.

The 51-year-old Sheree, mother of three, disappeared on Dec. 7, 2015. Her body has never been found.

“Greg executed a plan and executed Sheree,” Danyliuk said in June.

"He killed her."

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Danyliuk said while it is unusual, a body is not needed for a conviction.

He said Fertuck’s confession to undercover police officers during a ‘Mr. Big Sting’ matched evidence that only police knew at the time.

“The devil is in the details,” Danyliuk said.

He referenced a video played in the trial, where Fertuck used his walking stick to re-enact shooting Sheree.

“It’s chilling but convincing,” he said.

Danyliuk said evidence from Fertuck’s cellphone showed he made a trip to the gravel pit and returned to Saskatoon the same day Sheree was killed. He said it matches the same route Fertuck told undercover officers.

Danyliuk said he believed Fertuck planned the killing because he brought gloves, a loaded gun, and heavy plastic wrap when he met Sheree at the gravel pit that day.

He noted Fertuck was caught on camera going to a car wash near his home on that day. He said earlier in the trial, a DNA expert testified Sheree’s blood was found in the box of Fertuck’s truck.

Danyliuk also found him guilty of offering an indignity to human remains, saying he moved and disposed of Sheree’s body as one last act of spousal abuse.

He said there were several details Fertuck could only know if he was the killer. He gave one example, saying Fertuck was able to describe the type of gun and that there were two shell casings left in the pit.

“How could he know this unless he was there unless he killed Sheree,” Danyliuk said.

“He couldn’t.”

—With files from Stacey Hein