'There is no body': Greg Fertuck makes final arguments in murder trial, Crown argues finances motivated killing
A man representing himself in his own murder trial attempted to clear his name, while the Crown argued he was financially motivated to kill his spouse.
Greg Fertuck and Crown prosecutors made final arguments at Saskatoon's Court of King's Bench on Monday — a sign that the trial, that began in September 2021, is coming to a close.
Fertuck is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his estranged wife, Sheree Fertuck.
Sheree was last seen having lunch on her family farm near Kenaston, Sask. on Dec. 7, 2015. Her body has never been found.
At the time of the disappearance, Sheree and Fertuck were in the process of separating.
Fertuck was the target of an undercover police sting. He told undercover officers (he believed were his friends) that he shot Sheree at the gravel pit where she worked.
In his final submissions, Fertuck said he lied to undercover police on multiple occasions "to look cool."
He referenced evidence of gravel-hauling equipment being vandalized.
"Which is indicative of someone else having animosity towards Sheree," Fertuck argued, sitting in front of the judge wearing shackles.
Fertuck suggested someone else drove Sheree's truck on the day of her disappearance — referencing a 61 kilometre discrepancy between her semi-truck odometer and travel log.
Crown Prosecutor Cory Bliss argued Sheree could have made an error on her log, or Sheree may have taken side roads, longer than the perceived route.
Bliss described Sheree as a "hard-nosed business person." Court heard Fertuck sometimes worked for Sheree hauling gravel.
On the morning of her disappearance, according to Sheree's mother, Sheree was going through documents and believed Fertuck billed more hours than he worked — so she called the Kenaston Credit Union to inquire about cancelling a cheque.
Court heard Fertuck had a $427,000 pension, which required Sheree's approval to withdraw funds.
Sheree's lawyer testified Fertuck wanted to withdraw $15,000 of his pension, but Sheree refused to sign off on it.
"One can imagine the frustration and anger that Greg must have felt at this time. His federal pension with CN, one that he started earning well before he married Sheree, was inaccessible to him," Bliss said.
The family lawyer also testified Fertuck owed Sheree about $30,000 in child support.
Bliss argued Fertuck's finances "were in extremely poor shape" with accounts consistently in overdraft.
Court heard Fertuck's gun collection was seized by police because of a criminal complaint from Sheree.
"Having thought that a bullet would be easier ... Mr. Fertuck had a motive to bring Sheree's fears to reality," Bliss said.
Bliss referenced the secret recording of Fertuck, where he acted out the shooting, using his cane to imitate the alleged rife used.
The Crown also referenced blood matching Sheree's DNA found in Fertuck's truck bed, shell casings found at the scene and the alleged gun discovered in a rural area.
"Show me the body, Mr. Bliss!" Fertuck rebutted.
"You mentioned I shot her in the shoulder and in the head, but there is no body."
Sheree's truck sighting was not reliable, the Crown argued
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.
Bliss argued the neighbour's sighting isn't reliable, and the judge should reject the evidence.
"That evidence suffers from serious frailties ... people that are well-intentioned, have the potential to misidentify," Bliss argued.
Fertuck argued Sheree's semi was distinctive based on its red colour, and Lowdermilk knew Sheree's truck well.
Justice Richard Danyliuk is scheduled to make his verdict on June 14.
After announcing the date, Fertuck requested if he could get out on bail.
Danyliuk said Fertuck will need to submit a formal document to make the request.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6977053.1721909931!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
'Sick to my stomach': People grieve Jasper National Park by sharing favourite photos
As an out-of-control wildfire roared through Alberta’s famed Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday, many are fearing the worst as officials warned of 'significant loss' within the area.
LIVE UPDATES 'Hopefully it's better than what we're thinking': Jasper wildfire damage details anxiously awaited
Officials are waiting to learn Thursday morning the extent of wildfire damage in the Jasper townsite of Jasper National Park, which flames began to eat away at the night before.
Canadian women's soccer team staffer given suspended prison sentence over drone incident, prosecutor says
A Canada women's soccer team staffer has been given an eight-month suspended prison sentence after flying a drone to film the closed-door training session of the New Zealand team on Monday, the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
Sale of envoy's NYC condo 'expected to exceed' $9M: government
The current official residence for Canada's representative in New York City is 'being readied for sale,' according to a spokesperson from Global Affairs Canada.
Jasper wildfire burns buildings, while poor air quality forces some fire crews out
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on social media that Ottawa has approved Alberta's request for federal assistance after a fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday.
'I'm so broke': Two Toronto women speak out after losing $76,000 in romance scam
Two women from the Toronto area are speaking out after losing thousands of dollars to a romance scam, including a single mother who lost $62,000.
Barrie-Innisfil MPP 'blacked-out' and crashed car into window of child care centre
Staff at a Barrie child care centre say they are frustrated by what they call a local MPP's inadequate response after a car crashed through a window in one of the toddler rooms.
Loblaw to settle class action over bread price-fixing for $500 million
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. say they have agreed to pay $500 million to settle a pair of class-action lawsuits regarding their involvement in an alleged bread price-fixing scheme.
EXCLUSIVE One address, 76 foreign currency dealers: Inside Canada's money service business 'clusters'
An IJF and CTV News investigation has found dozens of cases across Canada where multiple money services businesses (MSBs) are incorporated at the same address, sometimes without the knowledge or consent of the location's actual occupant. One money laundering expert calls it an 'abuse of the system.'