Saskatoon judge: Fertuck's confession can be admitted as evidence

A Saskatoon judge has ruled that a confession provided to undercover RCMP officers during an elaborate sting operation can be admitted as evidence in a high-profile murder trial.

A Saskatoon judge has ruled that a confession provided to undercover RCMP officers during an elaborate sting operation can be admitted as evidence in a high-profile murder trial.

Greg Fertuck is accused of first-degree murder in the death of his estranged wife Sheree Fertuck. She disappeared in December 2015 and her body has never been found.

Justice Richard Danyliuk's ruling follows a lengthy "voir dire" — a portion of a trial where a judge determines whether evidence can be admitted.

Charges were brought against Fertuck following a "Mr. Big" sting — an elaborate investigation where undercover police pose as criminals hoping to gain a suspect's trust and elicit a confession.

Earlier in the trial, Fertuck's defence team had attempted to cast doubt on his confession due to a brain injury he sustained during the course of the investigation.

Court heard the injury resulted in memory loss so severe that police opted to reenact a pre-planned "scenario" with Fertuck that had already taken place — because he didn't appear to remember it.

However, in his decision, Danyliuk says he's seen no medical evidence of "some catastrophic, or highly serious, or irreversible brain damage occurred such that Mr. Fertuck was in a state of health that showed he should not be the subject of this sort of investigation."