Crown lawyers speak to delays in Fertuck murder trial

The first-degree murder trial of 70-year-old Greg Fertuck was initially scheduled for just five weeks.

That was back in Sept. 2021, but already the trial had been delayed several months because of concerns relating to COVID-19.

When the trial did begin, there were both Defence and Crown delays, and a lengthy voir dire, or trial within a trial, to determine the admissibility of admissions Fertuck made to undercover police officers who were posing as members of a criminal organization in a type of police deception known as a Mr. Big Sting.

There was also another voir dire relating to the discovery of the murder weapon. The Ruger 10/22 gun was found underneath a granary near Kinley, and delays related to a complaint Fertuck made to the Law Society of Saskatchewan about his former lawyers, Morris Bodnar and Mike Nolin.

A Ruger 10/22 found on rural property in November of 2021. (Court of King’s Bench)

That complaint ultimately resulted in the two withdrawing from the case, and Fertuck requesting to represent himself.

A last-minute application brought forward by Fertuck and a court advisor, calling for a mistrial, and for a gun expert to testify was then brought forward and dealt with on June 10. This was just days before a verdict in the case was expected to be delivered.

Outside of court on Friday, Crown prosecutor Cory Bliss acknowledged the lengthy delays.

“The Crown’s role is to put the evidence before the court. Sometimes that takes a long time. In this case, there were many twists and turns,” he said.

Co-Crown prosecutor Carla Dewar added that while this trial has been going on longer than most, it was important for the public to see justice done.

The gravel pit where Sheree Fertuck worked, along with her abandoned semi truck and trailer. (Court of King’s Bench)

“If there’s an application to re-open the case, or an application to have other evidence heard, the judge, as he always does, took everything very seriously, and sometimes that causes delays,” she added.

Decisions, she said, also take time to make.

“When there’s that many types of applications and whatnot, things take time – and we also had COVID to deal with,” she explained.

Dewar noted the discovery of the murder weapon came about during an adjournment that was requested by the defense counsel.

“We definitely couldn’t have seen that coming, but that was a huge discovery that took place because the matter was in the media,” she said. “That’s how the murder weapon came to be turned over to police.”

The proceedings are not yet over. Fertuck will be sentenced on July 4. Victim impact statements are also expected to be dealt with at that time as well.