'If anything ever happens to me, look at your dad': Daughter testifies in Greg Fertuck's murder trial
On the stand, in her dad’s murder trial, Lauren Fertuck held back tears while talking about how close she was with her mom.
“We’d talk on the phone every day … we talked about everything,” Lauren told a Saskatoon courtroom, over video.
Lauren’s dad, Greg Fertuck, is charged with first-degree murder in connection to the disappearance of her mom, Sheree Fertuck.
Sheree was last seen on Dec. 7, 2015 leaving the family farm near Kenaston, Sask. to go haul gravel nearby.
The Crown believes Greg shot Sheree at a gravel pit and moved her body to another location. Her remains have never been found.
Greg has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and causing indignity to human remains.
Lauren testified her mom told her: “If anything ever happens to me, look at your dad” and asked her to look after the dog.
She said the conversation happened about a year-and-a-half before Sheree went missing.
“She was scared my dad would eventually do things to her,” Lauren testified.
Court heard the couple had been separated at the time Sheree went missing. They had three children together: Lucas, Lauren and Lanna.
All the kids, now in their 20s, testified Greg’s drinking fuelled the separation and they’d often fight about finances.
While she never saw the physical violence between her parents, Lauren testified she once saw bruising on her mom’s torso and believed Greg kicked her.
She said she saw Greg kick her brother during an argument.
Lauren told court Greg would call Sheree nasty names and heard him make threats.
“He would get graphic, ‘I’ll gut you like a fish,’” she said.
Earlier in the trial, Lucas testified his dad threatened to shoot his mom “between the eyes.”
Fertuck testified she believed her father was the person responsible from the day her mother went missing.
A couple months after Sheree went missing, Lauren said her dad texted her asking about seeing his grandson, Lauren’s son.
In the text Greg said he loves them more than their mom, court heard.
Lauren told Greg he could only see her son, Greg’s grandson, if took a polygraph test.
In his text reply, Lauren said Greg called her a “brain dead little girl” and called Sheree “a bipolar witch.”
Two days after Sheree went missing, Greg told officers he still loved Sheree and they were even working on reconciling.
The judge-alone trial is in a voir dire, a trial within a trial, to determine the admissibility of evidence.
It’s scheduled to last eight weeks, going into the first week of November.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
Documents reveal Ottawa's efforts to get Loblaw, Walmart on board with grocery code
It was evident to the federal government as early as last fall that Loblaw and Walmart might be holdouts to the grocery code of conduct, jeopardizing the project's success.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
'I just want to be safe': Ukrainian man in Canada faces limbo amid consular freeze
A recent decision to restrict consular services for fighting-aged Ukrainian men has made a Ukrainian man in Canada feel less certain of his next steps — and worried he could be pulled back to the war.
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.