'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.

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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.