Greg Fertuck told undercover cops he 'wants to kill an individual' midway through Mr. Big sting

Greg Fertuck, already under investigation for allegedly killing his wife Sheree Fertuck, advised undercover cops posing as criminals that he wanted to kill a Saskatoon man involved in drugs and prostitution, court heard Monday.

"He said it more than once," testified Sgt. Tiffany Climenhaga.

"I was liaising with the investigative team in Regina about taking steps for [our] duty to warn, and to still manage the operation."

Greg is on trial charged with first-degree murder in the disappearance of his wife Sheree six years ago. He has pleaded not guilty.

The operation Climenhaga referenced on the stand was a so-called Mr. Big sting created by police to trick Greg into revealing where he had disposed of Sheree's body. The sting began on Aug. 6, 2018 — three years after Sheree disappeared, and one year after Greg had been arrested, interrogated but not charged.

Climenhaga served as lead RCMP investigator in the case from Sheree's disappearance on Dec. 7, 2015, through to when Greg was arrested and charged with her murder in 2019. She transitioned from the role of lead to supporting undercover officers in the sting.

The prosecution's theory is that Greg shot his ex-wife twice during a confrontation at the gravel pit near Kenaston, Sask., where she worked, and then moved her body to another location in the country.

Her semi truck was found at the gravel pit the next day, but her body has never been found.

The Crown's theory is based on disclosures Greg made to undercover police officers posing as criminals in the elaborate Mr. Big sting.

The judge-only trial, being presided over by Justice Richard Danyliuk, began with a voir dire — a sort of trial within the trial, which allows Danyliuk to assess the admissibility of the Crown's evidence.

'Sit for a while'

Climenhaga said police decided around the time of Greg's 2017 arrest that he could be a possible target for a Mr. Big sting, know as a "major crime technique" in the RCMP.

The criteria included police having a holdback — or evidence that the suspect is unaware police possess — which in this case included two .22-calibre shell casings that investigators recovered from the gravel pit.

This evidence would be used to corroborate any confession made by Greg to the undercover cops.

Climenhaga testified that police decided to let Greg 'sit for a while' after the six-hour interrogation in October, 2017. They kept him under surveillance and began developing a plan that could capitalize on his lifestyle.

Undercover cops made contact with Greg in August 2018 and began weaving their web. And then in December, Climenhaga said that Greg began advising his new criminal friends that he wanted to murder the man in Saskatoon.

"There were a lot of balls in the air," Climenhaga testified.

Police wanted to protect the integrity of the undercover operation, but also investigate the possible threat to a civilian. It was all complicated by the supposed target being only known by a nickname.

It was resolved by the undercover team getting Greg out province "until he no longer wanted the target killed," she testified.

The head injury

And then on Jan. 1, 2019 — six months into the sting — Greg slipped and cracked his head. He was taken by ambulance to hospital and then checked himself out the same day.

Six days later, the undercover cops were contacted by Greg's girlfriend and told that he was on the floor of their house in medical distress and needed help.

They arrive to find him collapsed, with swelling to his head. He'd also soiled himself, but was adamantly refusing to go back to hospital. EMTs were called and he was finally convinced to go to hospital.

Climenhaga said it wasn't until June 2019 that Greg made his disclosure to the fake crime boss that he killed Sheree.

Climenhaga is back on the stand Tuesday as the examination in chief continues.