'I thought he'd shoot me if I told anybody': Girlfriend testifies Greg Fertuck drunkenly told her he killed his wife

SASKATOON -

Greg Fertuck drunkenly confessed to killing his estranged wife the night she disappeared, court heard Tuesday.

Fertuck’s girlfriend, Doris Larocque, took the stand in Fertuck’s trial.

Fertuck is charged with first-degree murder in connection to the disappearance of his wife, Sheree Fertuck.

Sheree was last seen on Dec. 7, 2015 leaving her family farm near Kenaston, Sask. to go haul gravel nearby. Her body has never been found.

Fertuck came home drunk that night, turned on the lights to their bedroom and said he shot and killed Sheree, Larocque testified.

“Did he say where it happened?” Crown Prosecutor Carla Dewar asked.

“Yes, at the gravel pit … he said he used a machine and buried her at the gravel pit,” the 76-year-old woman responded.

Larocque testified Fertuck told her not to say anything, or she’d be next.

“I thought he’d shoot me if I told anybody,” Larocque said.

“But I wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth or not because he was drunk.”

Following that drunken confession, Larocque said Fertuck never again spoke about the alleged killing.

“After that, he’d always say, ‘I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it,’” Larocque testified.

Larocque was questioned by police three days after Sheree went missing.

In that police interview, Larocque didn’t tell investigators about Fertuck’s drunken admission.

The Crown asked Larocque why she didn’t tell police until 2020 — five years after Sheree went missing.

“Why did you end up telling police what Greg said to you?” Dewar asked.

“Because it was the truth,” Larocque answered.

During cross-examination, defence lawyer Morris Bodnar read transcripts from Larocque’s police interviews.

Court heard that in her first police interview, Larocque told officers Fertuck looked “worried about Sheree” and she didn’t believe Fertuck would “do anything because he cares too much for his kids.”

Bodnar noted portions of other statements Larocque gave police.

Often times on the stand, Larocque said she couldn’t remember.

“You do have a hard time remembering things don’t you?” Bodnar asked.

“I do, all the time,” Larocque responded.

Larocque said she may have early stages of dementia.

Bodnar suggested Larocque told police about Fertuck’s drunk confession after she was told she could be charged with accessory to murder.

Larocque said she didn’t remember.

Fertuck’s trial is in a voir dire, a trial within a trial, to determine the admissibility of evidence.