Piece of denim possibly linked to Fertuck disappearance not further investigated by police: testimony
About four years after Sheree Fertuck went missing, a father-son duo alerted police about a potential new piece of evidence.
RCMP Const. Robert Head, an investigator in the case, took the stand in Greg Fertuck’s murder trial.
Fertuck is charged with first-degree murder in connection to Sheree’s disappearance.
Sheree was last seen on Dec. 7, 2015 leaving her family farm near Kenaston, Sask. to go haul gravel. Sheree’s semi-truck was found abandoned in the gravel pit with her keys, phone and jacket left inside.
Head testified a father and his son, who crushed gravel in the same pit, found a piece of denim in their machine.
“It looked like part of a sleeve,” Head told court.
The fabric was believed to be found in the upper part of the pit — away from the area Sheree’s semi truck was found.
Head testified police determined the material didn’t belong to Sheree, based on its location and witness reports.
But the defence disagreed.
Defence lawyer Mike Nolin suggested Sheree was wearing a denim shirt the day she went missing, based on a description from Sheree’s brother — who saw her that day.
The constable told court the fabric wasn’t sent to a lab or investigated further.
Nolin asked Head how many times cadaver dogs were brought to search the pit.
Head said dogs were brought to the scene once, a few days after Sheree went missing.
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,” the gun lab report read.
On Oct. 6, 2020, police further examined the pit — following a new admission from Fertuck’s girlfriend.
Ground penetrating radar was used and tractors were brought in to search five feet below the surface, Head testified.
After Fertuck told an undercover officer he shot Sheree at the pit, searches ramped up, court heard.
RCMP Cpl. Ronald Degooijer was the search coordinator, he lead searches based on information Fertuck gave to an undercover officer.
Degooijer testified he and his team looked for bones, black plastic and clothing.
Officers focused on a tree bluff area where Fertuck told undercover officers he dumped Sheree’s body.
Despite the searches, Sheree’s body has never been found.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.