Greg Fertuck 'never told me that he killed Sheree,' former girlfriend testifies at murder trial
'I didn't kill Sheree and nothing I ever told undercover officers was true,' Fertuck says
A man accused of killing his estranged wife was back in court in Saskatoon on Friday, this time acting in his own defence.
Greg Fertuck is on trial for first-degree murder in the 2015 death of Sheree Fertuck. He has chosen to represent himself after his lawyers withdrew from the case.
On Friday, he cross-examined both his former girlfriend and the Crown's gun expert, asking them questions about their earlier testimony.
The Crown's case is that Fertuck shot Sheree Fertruck and hid her body, which has never been found.
According to previous testimony from his former girlfriend, Doris Larocque, Greg Fertuck drunkenly admitted to killing Sheree on Dec. 7, 2015 — just hours after the crime allegedly happened.
On Friday, Larocque backtracked on some of her incriminating comments as Fertuck cross-examined her.
"He [Fertuck] never told me that he killed Sheree. I'm sure he didn't. I don't remember that but I don't think he did," Larocque, 78, told the court Friday.
Earlier during the trial, which began in September 2021 and has faced repeated delays, Fertuck's former lawyer Morris Bodnar had noted that Larocque had memory loss and suggested she could be suffering from early onset dementia. She had agreed, saying she's not diagnosed but has thought about it — it's an illness that plagued her mother, too.
In closing arguments, the Crown also said there were very few questions Larocque did not respond to saying "I don't remember or recall."
Larocque and Fertuck were a long-term couple and Fertuck lived with her until his arrest in 2019. But when cross-examined by Fertuck on the length of their living situation, she said it was not very long and perhaps was a year.
"My memory isn't good but I'm sure," she told the court.
When she testified in 2021, she told the court that Greg had told her not to tell anybody about him shooting his wife — and that if she did tell anybody, she'd be next.
She testified via video link from a separate room at the courthouse. There was a support worker in the room with her.
"Hello Doris, it has been a long time, I'm still a victim here," said Fertuck, beginning his cross-examination.
Justice Richard Danyliuk, who is presiding over the trial, immediately stopped Fertuck to explain the purpose of cross-examination.
Fertuck was course-corrected quite a few times on Friday. On occasions he was advised by Danyliuk to consult with the court-appointed lawyer, Brent Little, an independent legal counsel, to better approach his cross-examination.
"You can ask her questions to jog her memory but you are not entitled to give your version of facts," Danyliuk said.
"You cannot provide your version of facts.… This is not a kitchen-table conversation."
Fertuck further questioned Larocque about whether RCMP pressured or violated her any rights. Larocque said they did not bother her.
"Because I knew I didn't do anything," she replied.
Larocque "vaguely remembered" details around Fertuck's arrest.
Among other things he asked about, including trips to Pike Lake and taking the dogs out for walks, Fertuck asked about her signing a no-contact order against him. However, Larocque told the court she does not remember that.
"I have asked Doris every question I had for her and she always answered she doesn't remember," Fertuck told the court.
'Nothing I ever told them was ever true': Fertuck
The Crown's evidence so far has been called within a series of voir dires — essentially, trials within trials, typically held to determine the admissibility of evidence.
The evidence presented in those voir dires includes Fertuck's statements made to undercover officers during an elaborate operation, known as a "Mr. Big" sting — a controversial tactic used to elicit information and confessions from suspects.
Fertuck gave his oral submission on the admissibility of his statements given to the police. He said whatever he told the undercover agent was fabricated.
"Nothing I ever told them was ever true," he said.
"I never killed Sheree in a gravel pit and then buried her there."
The Crown has submitted two shell casing found at the gravel pit and a Ruger 10/22 rifle as evidence at the trial.
'No other Ruger would make those same markings: gun expert
Kenneth Chan, a ballistics expert, has already testified twice. He concluded that the shell casings found at the gravel pit were fired from the Ruger 10/22 found west of Saskatoon. The rifle was discovered by a rural couple in west of Saskatoon in November 2021.
Chan was the second witness Fertuck cross-examined Friday.
On April 29, 2022, Chan testified the Ruger found under the bin fired the two shell casings found at the gravel pit — a stance he stuck by during re-examination.
Fertuck asked Chan if he was sure whether the shells were fired from the same gun.
Chan said he did test fire and analyzed the gun shell markings.
He explained to the court the markings on the surface after a firearm has been discharged are unique.
"No other Ruger would make those markings," he said.
"It's simply impractical to examine all the Rugers in the world, but those markings I observed are individual."
Chan also contradicted a piece of literature Fertuck raised in the court, with Fertuck says he has read that two different guns can still mark the same.
"I have not read any literature that says so. It is rather the opposite," Chan said.
The murder trial has been adjourned till 2 p.m. CST on Sept. 22, at which time a decision on the voir dires might be reached.
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