SASKATOON – Greg Fertuck’s murder trial is adjourned again after the defence asked for more disclosure from the Crown.
Fertuck, 68, is accused of shooting his estranged wife Sheree Fertuck in a Kenaston-area gravel pit Dec. 7, 2015.
Lawyers Mike Nolin and Morris Bodnar represent Fertuck. Nolin asked the Crown for the ballistic expert’s notes and which databases the shell casings found at the gravel pit were compared to. Police found two shell casings at the gravel pit in April 2016. Fertuck told undercover officers during a Mr. Big sting that he shot Sheree Fertuck twice at the gravel pit.
The trial has faced numerous delays. It was originally set to start in March 2021 but was adjourned due to COVID-19. Defence sought the adjournment rather than take risks with the health and safety of the participants and the public. Justice Richard Danyliuk said that many trials could be handled remotely through the use of technology but this wasn’t one of them because the trial is complex and includes evidence of the undercover police operation called “Mr. Big.”
Mr. Big stings
Mr. Big stings are covert operations used by the RCMP where undercover police pose as fictitious criminal organizations to gain a confession.
Before the RCMP launch a Mr. Big sting, they place the suspect under surveillance for weeks to learn about his habits and personality. They then come up with an interactive scenario for the suspect.
During a Mr. Big sting, the RCMP pretends to run into the suspect by chance and gets the suspect to do a small favour for the “criminal organization.” The police then exploit the relationship and offer gifts, companionship, meals, entertainment, and employment to gain his trust. The undercover officers build a relationship with the suspect, and then gets the suspect to participate in fake criminal acts such as credit card scams, selling guns, or delivering goods, and the RCMP pays the suspect. The Mr. Big sting may involve as many as 50 RCMP operatives.
Once the suspect is immersed in the fake criminal organization he is persuaded to reveal information about his own criminal history in order for him to become a member of the criminal organization.
Eventually the suspect gets to meet the crime boss “Mr. Big” who tells the suspect he received incriminating information from the police about the suspect and his arrest threatens the crime group. To avoid this, the suspect must tell Mr. Big all the details of the unsolved crime the suspect was involved with so Mr. Big can clean up the situation by framing someone else or tampering with incriminating evidence.
In some cases the suspect is pressured to confess as a sign of loyalty to the criminal organization.
Fertuck trial
Fertuck’s judge alone trial started Sept. 7 in Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench.
The trial was expected to start back up Monday after a three-week adjournment but has now been adjourned to Dec. 7 for case management. Fertuck will appear by telephone from the Saskatoon Correctional Centre.
Fertuck is charged with first-degree murder and offering an indignity to human remains for the disappearance of his estranged wife Sheree Fertuck.
In December 2015, 51-year-old Sheree was last seen leaving her family’s farmyard east of Kenaston to haul rock to a nearby gravel pit. RCMP searched the area but Sheree’s body was never found.
In April 2016 police determined that Sheree was a victim of a homicide. Fertuck was arrested June 24, 2016, near Saskatoon.
The charges against Fertuck haven't been proven in court.
Fertuck has been in isolation
Bodnar asked Justice Danyliuk Monday to make an order to have Fertuck remain at Saskatoon Correctional Centre. He told the court that he hasn’t been able to speak with his client while on remand because he has been in isolation.
Bodnar said Fertuck was moved from Saskatoon Correctional Centre to Regina Correctional Centre, which caused him to be put into isolation. And then he was moved back to Saskatoon, which caused him to be put in isolation again and defence wasn’t able to speak with him.
Justice Danyliuk said the court doesn’t have the power to tell corrections where to place a prisoner but he said given the “importance and complexity of this ongoing trial, I strongly recommend that Mr. Fertuck be housed at the Saskatoon Correctional Centre unless there’s excellent reason to transfer him to another facility.”
