AP – A Southern California judge pulled a loaded gun from his ankle holster and fatally shot his wife during an argument while the couple was watching television, a prosecutor told jurors as the judge’s trial was underway.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson, who is now 74 years old, is heard saying on police videos shown in court that he shot his wife, Sheryl Ferguson. His lawyer doesn’t dispute that Ferguson fired the gun but contends it was an accident.
Ferguson had been drinking on August 3, 2023, when he argued with his wife about finances during dinner at a local restaurant and later while watching Breaking Bad at home with their adult son, prosecutor Seton Hunt said. At one point in the evening, Ferguson made a gun hand gesture toward her, and she later chided him to point a real one at her, Hunt said.
Ferguson proceeded to do so and pulled the trigger, Hunt said. He was later taken into custody, and in comments captured on a police video recording, pleaded for a jury to convict him.
“I killed her,” Ferguson is heard saying. “I did it.”
The statements came at the beginning of Ferguson’s trial on a murder charge in a case that has roiled the legal community in Orange County. To avoid a conflict of interest, a Los Angeles County judge is presiding over the case before jurors in Santa Ana – not far from where Ferguson previously heard cases in his courtroom.
Ferguson – who used to be a criminal prosecutor – sat in court in the defendant’s chair and wore a grey suit jacket and glasses. He has pleaded not guilty. His lawyer, Cameron J Talley, reserved his opening statement for later in the trial, but he previously said the shooting was accidental. He said his client planned to testify.
After the shooting, Ferguson and his son both called 911, and Ferguson texted his court clerk and bailiff saying, “I just lost it. I just shot my wife. I won’t be in tomorrow. I will be in custody. I’m so sorry,” according to a copy of a text message Hunt showed jurors.
Video footage from a police body-worn camera shows Ferguson outside the home, in handcuffs, swearing and asking if his wife was still alive. He said his son and everyone would hate him, and that he never imagined he would wind up like the violent gang members he prosecuted when he worked in the district attorney’s office, according to the footage.
“Never in my wildest dreams I thought I’d be sitting here in handcuffs,” Ferguson was heard saying.
