Justice Richard Danyliuk’s verdict in the first-degree murder of 51-year-old Sheree Fertuck in December of 2015 is guilty.
Sheree’s husband was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and indignity to a body back in 2019. In his statement at Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench, Justic Danyliuk said, “Sheree Fertuck was many things to many people. She was a mother, a grandmother, daughter, a sister. She was a wife. She was a businessperson. She was tough and hardworking. She was loyal. She was not just a name, she was a real person, important to many people. And, as of December 7, 2015, she was gon. Missing.” He calls criminal trials at their core a quest for truth.
The Crown presented evidence suggesting Greg Fertuck shot Sheree twice, killing her. Then he disposed of her body so effectively, it still can’t be found, and then he disposed of the murder weapon, which was found years later. There was an undercover operation called a “Mr. Big” sting, where an undercover officer posed as a criminal, which resulted in Fertuck confessing to him. Fertuck contends he said he killed his wife to look cool to this person, but he didn’t really do it.
Danyliuk also brought up there was a dispute between Sheree and Greg over money. Greg had asked to have access to his pension funds to pay some debts. He needed Sheree’s consent to do so, but she refused. When questioned by police, Greg Fertuck originally said he and his wife had a good relationship, but that was contradicted by other witnesses.
Justice Danyliuk noted that Sheree Fertuck’s body has never been found, but he also stated there are numerous murder cases where the victim’s body was never found. There were delays to the trial, first because of the pandemic, then the voir dire around the Mr. Big sting operation, then re-opening the trial because of new evidence, and Fertuck deciding to represent himself more than half way through the trial.
Sheree Fertuck was reported missing in December of 2015 and her husband was charged in 2019. The now 70-year-old’s trial was originally set to begin in March of 2021, but there was a delay because of a COVID-19 outbreak in Regina, where some of the witnesses were coming from.
The charge of first-degree murder means the killing was planned and deliberate. The charge has a mandatory life sentence with no parole for 25 years.