Pair of gun shell casings focus as Fertuck trial resumes in Saskatoon

Saskatoon -

Two gun shell casings found at a gravel pit were front and centre at the Greg Fertuck trial.

The trial has been adjourned for three weeks. It picked back up on Monday at Saskatoon’s Queen’s Bench.

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

Sheree was last seen Dec. 7, 2015. Her body has never been found.

The Crown believes Fertuck shot and killed Sheree at a gravel pit near Kenaston, Sask.

On April 14, 2016, shell casings from a .22 calibre rifle were found at the pit.

The casings were sent to a lab to be compared to shell casings seized from Fertuck’s home, to see if they were fired from the same gun.

But there was no conclusive finding from the RCMP Firearms and Toolmark Identification Section.

“The expended cartridge case … was neither identified nor eliminated as having been fired in the same firearm which fired the expended cartridge cases,” the gun lab report read.

The defence requested further information on the report to determine if it will call a rebuttal expert.

Monday’s proceedings started late because the defence needed to speak with Fertuck.

Defence lawyer Morris Bodnar claimed he had trouble connecting with Fertuck in jail because he was moving between facilities and was put in isolation.

Bodnar asked the judge to recommend Fertuck stay at Saskatoon Correctional Centre to make communication easier with his client.

Justice Richard Danyliuk said while the court can’t "boss around” corrections, he made the recommendation Fertuck stay in Saskatoon.

Evidence in the trial is in a voir dire: a trial within a trial, to determine the admissibility of evidence.

The proceedings have been adjourned to next month.