Testimony at murder trial provides closer look at Sheree Fertuck's final gravel contract

Sheree Fertuck was an "aggressive business person" — not in an angry or violent way, but she was always calling for jobs and eager to work, Martin Koyle told court Thursday at the trial for the man accused of killing her.

Koyle worked with a company that hired Fertuck to haul gravel in the months before she disappeared.

He was called by the Crown to testify at the first-degree murder trial of Greg Fertuck, Sheree's estranged husband,  about her work.

Greg Fertuck is accused of killing Sheree at the gravel pit where she worked in 2015 and getting rid of her body. He has pleaded not guilty.

While Sheree's remains have never been found, Greg Fertuck previously confessed to undercover police officers who went undercover as criminals, using a controversial tactic known as a "Mr. Big" sting in order to obtain evidence, Crown prosecutors said earlier this week.

During the judge-only trial at Saskatoon's Court of Queen's Bench, Greg Fertuck's lawyers have used their cross-examination to draw attention to Sheree's gravel-hauling competitors as possible persons of interest.

The defence said Wednesday that Sheree beat out Jeff Sagen, a gravel-hauling competitor, for a lucrative $2-million hauling contract.

Koyle said he worked for Texcana Logistics, the company responsible for that contract. The company was developing a fertilizer terminal for Blair's Fertilizer near Hanley, Sask., and needed a lot of gravel. During his testimony Thursday, he explained the finer details of the contract, which he said actually totalled about $1.5 million.

Koyle said the company had actually initially hired Sagen over Sheree because his bid prices were lower. However, they started suspecting Sagen of shorting the company with his loads.

They hired a third party to measure the amounts, which reported discrepancies, according to Koyle. He said the company paid Sagen out (holding back the amount they thought they were shorted) and hired Sheree a few months later, when they needed more gravel. 

Court heard that Sheree's family had purchased a scale for their loader to safeguard against discrepancies. It measured each load's weight, storing the data so it could be printed out on a ticket. 

The Crown has alleged Greg used that loader to move Sheree's body into his truck after shooting her in the gravel pit on Dec. 7, 2015.

The defence has been asking questions about the machine's weigh scale, including questions put to Sheree's brother, Darren Sorotski, who also testified Thursday.

He knew the gravel business and had worked with Sheree before. 

Sorotski testified Thursday that the scale doesn't turn on automatically, but has a power button that needs to be flipped on. If the scale was powered on when the machine was shut off, it would be on when the machine was started back up, he testified.

The defence suggested Sheree left it on at all times, but Sorotski said he didn't know what Sheree did and couldn't speak to that.

The loader was examined for forensic evidence but little was found aside from what's believed to be a trace of blood. 

Earlier at the trial it was revealed that the loader had been contaminated before it was checked for forensic evidence. People had used the loader to search for Sheree in the pit after she disappeared and it had then filled with snow. 

Sorotski is now 51, the same age Sheree was when she went missing. The last time he saw her was when they had lunch together at their mom's place just hours before she was allegedly killed. Sorotski said Sheree left before him.

The next morning, their worried mother had Sorotski check the pit for Sheree. He started up her abandoned semi truck, noticing it started cold, as if it hadn't run for hours. 

Sheree's uncle Ron Matycio and RCMP search co-ordinator Pascale Lauriault also testified briefly Thursday.

Matycio testified that he saw Sagen, Sheree's gravel-hauling competitor, participate in the search for Sheree, but he and multiple other witnesses have testified that Greg never helped look.

Greg and Sheree's middle child, Lauren, attempted to testify as well, but a shoddy video connection meant her testimony was postponed. 

Testimony continues Friday, concluding the first week of the eight-week trial.