'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
Trudeau acknowledges charges in Nijjar killing, calls for commitment to democracy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Princess Anne lays wreath at B.C. veteran's cemetery; receives 21-gun salute
Princess Anne paid tribute to veterans buried at a cemetery in British Columbia today, laying a wreath to honour the more than 2,500 military personnel and family members buried there.
Mystik Dan wins the 150th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in a three-horse photo finish
Mystik Dan won the 150th Kentucky Derby in a photo finish, edging out Forever Young and Sierra Leone for the upset victory.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
London Drugs begins 'gradual reopening' on 7th day after cyberattack
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.