Saskatoon judge in Greg Fertuck trial denies defendant’s mistrial request

A Saskatoon judge confirmed that the verdict for a man accused of first-degree murder will be delivered Friday, denying an application for a mistrial and calls for additional witnesses.

Greg Fertuck has been representing himself in court, where he stands accused of killing his ex-wife Sheree Fertuck in 2015.

Just over a week before Fertuck was scheduled to receive his trial verdict, he asked Justice Richard Danyliuk to grant a mistrial or allow him to reopen the evidence portion of his case once again.

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His application was denied in a written decision on Wednesday, with Judge Danyliuk saying these efforts were “ill-conceived” and without any legal foundation.

“Mr. Fertuck’s ‘plan’ to reopen to get further scientific evidence before this court is no real plan at all,” Danyliuk wrote in his decision. “He is at worst fishing. He is at best investigating.”

Fertuck began self-representing in the latter half of his trial which began in September 2021, despite the court’s recomendation against it.

He told Judge Danyliuk that recalling a firearms expert could help him prove a rifle found in rural Saskatchewan didn’t fire the shells found in a gravel pit where his wife was allegedly buried, according to an undercover police investigation.

When asked why he did not produce an expert during the multiple opportunities he had during his trial, Fertuck said he did not have the money or the time.

“No time? On remand, Mr. Fertuck has virtually nothing but time,” Danyliuk wrote in his decision. “He did not exercise due diligence, now or then. He is the author of his own situation.”

Judge Danyliuk said Fertuck was unable to explain why he asked for a mistrial in his application or point to any evidence that had damaged the fairness of his trial.

“I have scoured the record to determine whether there is any basis whatsoever upon which I might have to declare a mistrial. I could find absolutely nothing,” the judge wrote. “Mr. Fertuck’s complaints and concerns have more to do with an appeal once this trial is complete than they have to do with a mistrial.”

The verdict will be delivered Friday as originally scheduled.