Jurors on Wednesday afternoon began deliberating the fate of an Orange County Superior Court judge on trial for murder after he shot and killed his wife at their Anaheim Hills home following a heated argument.
The jury must choose between finding Judge Jeffrey Ferguson guilty of second-degree murder or a lesser count of voluntary manslaughter, or acquitting him entirely of any criminal charges. The jury ended deliberations for the day at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, and is scheduled to resume its work Thursday morning.
That Ferguson fired the gunshot that killed his wife, Sheryl, on Aug. 3, 2023 is not in dispute. The prosecution contends the judge purposely fired the fatal gunshot during a heated argument, while the defense counters that Ferguson accidentally shot his wife.
The prosecution and defense agree that an argument over finances between the couple began at their home and then continued while the couple had dinner with their then 22-year-old son at a restaurant and after they returned home to watch some of the final episodes of the television show “Breaking Bad.”
While at dinner, Judge Ferguson made a “finger-gun” motion at his wife, both sides agree. The prosecution described it as a threatening motion, while the defense contended it was his way to indicate that the wife had won the argument. There was no dispute that Judge Ferguson was drinking alcohol at home and at the restaurant, and was drunk by the time they were watching television.
The couple’s adult son later described hearing his mother say “Why don’t you use a real gun?” to his father, an apparent reference to the “finger gun” motion earlier in the evening. Senior Deputy District Attorney Seton Hunt told jurors that Ferguson responded by immediately pulling a Glock .40-caliber pistol out of his ankle holster and shooting his wife.
Ferguson testified that his wife actually said something like “Why don’t you put the real gun away from me” and then made her own “finger gun” motion at him, addding “Pshew! Pshew!” sounds to apparently mimic gunfire. Ferguson said he took his gun out of the ankle holster and was trying to place it on a coffee table when his bad shoulder gave out and he fumbled the firearm and accidently hit the trigger, firing the weapon and fatally injuring his wife.
Shortly after the shooting, Ferguson texted the clerk and bailiff that worked for him in his courtroom at the Newport Beach courthouse, telling them “I just lost it. I shot my wife. I won’t be in tomorrow. I will be in custody. I’m so sorry.” The prosecutor described that text — along with many seemingly incriminating comments Ferguson made to police both outside his home and at the Anaheim Police station — as an effective confession.
“We all know what this means,” Hunt told jurors during closing arguments in a Santa Ana courtroom. “You lost your temper and you shot your wife.”
Attorney Cameron Talley, who is representing Ferguson, noted that Ferguson never told police that he murdered his wife or that he shot her on purpose.
“On this night, between episodes of ‘Breaking Bad’ with his son in the room, he decides this is the night I kill my wife?” Talley asked.
While he denied intentionally shooting his wife, Ferguson during his testimony admitted repeatedly breaking the law by carrying a concealed weapon while consuming alcohol, a violation of his concealed carry permit. The judge also admitted to drinking during lunch breaks once or twice a week before going back to court to hear criminal cases.
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge is presiding over Ferguson’s trial in order to avoid a conflict of interest with Ferguson’s Orange County judicial colleagues.