Suspect strategy: Defence challenges cops on 6-hour interrogation of accused killer Greg Fertuck
Defence lawyer Morris Bodnar quotes author John Grisham in cross-exam
Prosecutors say police drew key admissions from murder suspect Greg Fertuck in a marathon six-hour interrogation after his arrest on Oct. 25, 2017, for the alleged murder of his wife Sheree Fertuck.
On Thursday, Greg's lawyers challenged the two officers about their tactics.
Sheree vanished six years ago and Thursday's cross-examination unfolded on what would have been her 57th birthday.
Greg is on trial before a judge alone at Court of Queen's Bench in Saskatoon, accused in Sheree's death. Her body has never been found, but her semi-truck was discovered abandoned in a gravel pit near Kenaston, Sask., on Dec. 8, 2015.
He has pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder charge.
Staff Sgt. Charles Lerat did the primary interview with Greg in 2017, while Sgt. Chad Clark did an evidence presentation that included photos, maps, text messages and video pleas from Greg's adult children.
Defence lawyer Morris Bodnar asked Lerat whether he'd ever heard the expression "tunnel vision" when it came to police investigations and, if so, what it meant to him.
Lerat said he had, and that in his mind it meant when investigators are unable "to see outside the walls of the tunnel and pursue all the tentacles" of a case.
Bodnar then produced a copy of the novel Camino Winds by author John Grisham and read a passage in court.
"These guys who've been around think they can look at a crime scene and name the killer. It's called tunnel vision. They embrace their own theory, then march off in the wrong direction. They ignore facts to the contrary and embrace anything that supports their ideas," he read.
Bodnar suggested that RCMP were convinced of Greg's guilt to the degree that they ignored evidence to the contrary. This included statements from two witnesses who claim to have seen Sheree's distinctive red semi-truck later in the day that she vanished.
"Do you agree with these witnesses," Bodnar asked.
"No," Lerat replied.
Lerat suggested that the eyewitnesses "could be mistaken in the identity of the truck."
Bodnar also asked what grounds police had to arrest Greg that day.
The prosecution's theory is that Greg shot his ex-wife twice during a confrontation at the gravel pit and then moved her body to another location in the country.
The theory is based on disclosures Greg made to undercover police officers posing as criminals in an elaborate operation known as a "Mr. Big sting" in 2019.
The admissibility of these statements has yet to be determined by Justice Richard Danyliuk.
Lerat said it wasn't his decision to arrest Greg, but that the key elements behind the call included:
- Greg said he was not at the gravel pit the day that Sheree disappeared from that area, but cell phone 'pings' placed him there.
- One of 15 swabs taken from the back of his truck came back as a match to Sheree's DNA.
- Greg had been involved in domestic violence issues with Sheree.
- Greg had been convicted of firearms offences.
Bodnar said that, even with these elements and disclosures made by Greg during the interrogation, the opinion from the Crown never changed: there was not enough there to charge Greg with murder.
Lerat said that he had heard that third-hand after the interrogation.
It wasn't until two years later, and after police had conducted the undercover sting, that Greg was charged with first-degree murder.
The trial ended for the day Thursday with a procedural spat between the defence and prosecution. Crown Cory Bliss had intended to call an expert on cellphones, but defence lawyer Mike Nolin objected that the prosecution had not provided proper disclosure.
After an adjournment, Justice Danyliuk ruled that the Crown disclosure was "inadequate in substance and timing" and he left it to the parties to co-ordinate when the witness could appear.
The trial continues on Friday. It began on Sept. 7 and is set to run eight weeks.
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