Greg Fertuck told police he didn't go near the pit on day of Sheree's disappearance

Greg Fertuck chuckled when police officers told him people might point fingers at him if his estranged wife, Sheree, wasn't found soon. 

"I sort of imagined that. Wife goes missing, everybody says husband," he said, during a two-hour statement made to two police officers shortly after Sheree went missing. 

Police took the statement on Dec. 9, 2015, over coffee in his kitchen. The statement was played on Thursday at Saskatoon's Court of Queen's Bench during Greg's first-degree murder trial.

The crown intends to prove that Greg shot Sheree twice at the gravel pit where she worked, used a loader to put her in his truck and then deposited her body in a rural area.

The case relies on Greg's confession to undercover police, but the Crown also says it has DNA evidence, surveillance footage and a cellphone ping that will place him near the pit that afternoon. 

Sheree's body has never been found and Greg has pleaded not guilty. 

'My landlady will vouch for me'

Greg told police multiple times that he hadn't been near the pit that day. He sketched out his day following his morning appointment in Saskatoon.  

He said he came home, had lunch, did the laundry, took the dog out to a rural area near Clavet, Sask., and then came home to barbecue steak. 

"That was basically my day. My landlady will vouch for me if you want," Greg told the police officers. 

Later, he tells them he didn't actually didn't eat lunch that day because of stomach issues. Greg did not mention a trip to Vern's car wash that afternoon either. Police obtained surveillance footage, played earlier in the trial, that appears to show him there just before 5 p.m. 

Greg questioned about domestic violence

Court records show that Greg had a history of being violent toward Sheree before they separated in 2011. During his statement, he blamed her — and his drinking — for both domestics. 

He said in one incident, he "pointed the gun at her" while trying to take it away. His son, Lucas Fertuck, previously told the court that Greg threatened to shoot Sheree "between the eyes."

Greg said he quit drinking after their separation, and from then on they didn't have major issues.

In fact, he told the officers he hadn't consumed hard liquor in years until that very day. Greg said he had Brandy earlier that day, saying he was depressed about Sheree. Greg's statement was played as part of a voir dire — a mini trial within the ongoing proceedings.

Justice Richard Danyliuk, who is overseeing the trial, will have to decide whether the statement can be admitted as evidence. 

The police asked Greg: "When was your last argument with Sheree?" He said he couldn't remember and that it was a long time ago. 

But Sheree's mom told police just a few days later that the two had a little argument just before Sheree disappeared. 

Sheree tried to stop payment to Greg 

Sheree tried to cancel a payment to Greg on the last day she was seen, according to her late mother. 

"She felt he had charged for too many hours," Juliann Sorotski told the police in 2015.

Court has heard that Greg had been working a few hours here and there for Sheree at her hauling business. 

The Crown played a statement from Sorotski made to police on Dec. 13, 2015. Sorotski died in 2018, but she was close with Sheree and never stopped trying to find her. 

Sheree would stay at the nearby Sorotski residence when she was hauling gravel. The gravel hauling was one part of her mom's business. 

Court heard Greg occasionally hauled for Sheree when she needed an extra hand. He was familiar with the machinery and licensed to drive a semi truck.

Usually Sheree would pay her helpers, but Juliann knew Greg. She said Sheree paid Greg his last two cheques before Sheree disappeared. She issued him one for $950 at November's end and then another cheque for $350 on Dec. 4. 

'He wasn't happy about that'

Sorotski said she paid him so he didn't have to come back to the farm and collect the money. She told police she was civil with Greg, but things were never the same after the domestic violence. 

"When somebody has done harm to your child, how can you have the same feeling about that person down the road?'"

When Sheree found out about the payments, she believed Greg cited more hours of work than what she had noted. Sorotski said Sheree called him and asked him if he had tracked them. 

"I think he kind of got mad at that time and said, 'don't you trust me?'…. She said from what I have documented, your hours are different than mine.' He wasn't happy about that." 

She told police Sheree planned to call the bank Monday, on Dec. 7, 2015, to stop a payment to Greg. 

Court previously heard about Sheree's phone calls that day. She made a 14-second call to Greg's cellphone at 10:33 a.m., then an 83-second call to the Affinity Credit Union at 10:38 a.m. Her records show another two-second call to Greg at 11:17 a.m. Her incoming calls show Greg called her for 70 seconds at 11:28 a.m. 

When asked where Greg thinks Sheree is, he says "I hope she's well." The officer asks again, "where do you think?" 

Greg responds: "Well, after a couple days now, it doesn't seem very good but I hope she's good. She's the mother of my children. I still care a lot for her." 

More statements made by Greg to police are expected to be played in court on Friday as week two of the eight-week trial comes to an end.