Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson, whose high-profile murder trial ended this week in a mistrial, told Inside Edition that he and his wife were “just bickering like Lucy and Desi” before the judge says he accidentally shot and killed her.
Ferguson, during an interview apparently conducted after the end of his trial on Monday, told Inside Edition that sitting in the defendant’s seat during his weeklong trial for the killing of his wife, Sheryl, was “frightening and almost hard for me to believe.” The judge’s claim that the shooting was an accident echoed his testimony during his recent trial.
“I wasn’t angry at her, I loved her” Ferguson said of his wife in the interview before comparing their relationship to the couple at the center of the 1950s sitcom “I Love Lucy.” ” We were just bickering like Lucy and Desi. I didn’t murder her.”
A jury deliberated for more than 40 hours over nine days — longer than the trial itself — before announcing they were deadlocked 11 to 1 in favor of a second-degree murder conviction. DA Todd Spitzer has made clear that his office will pursue a retrial, which the judge presiding over Ferguson’s case hopes to move forward with in either April or May.
There is no dispute that Ferguson fired the gunshot that killed his wife from a Glock .40-caliber pistol he pulled from his ankle holster while the couple and their adult son were watching the final episodes of the television show “Breaking Bad” in a family room at their Anaheim Hills home. Ferguson — who has admitted to being an alcoholic and drinking during his work days while serving as a judge — acknowledged he was drunk at the time of the shooting.
The prosecution alleges that Ferguson intentionally killed his wife during a heated argument. The defense argues that Ferguson accidentally fired the fatal gunshot after his bad shoulder gave out and he fumbled the weapon.
Immediately after the shooting, Ferguson texted his courtroom staff, telling them “I just lost it. I shot my wife. I won’t be in tomorrow. I will be in custody.” During more than an hours worth of recorded video footage taken while the judge was in police custody, Ferguson made a series of seemingly incriminating statements that the prosecution argued were effectively a confession. But, as the defense argued, he never directly said in those statements that he intentionally shot his wife.
“These thoughts are tumbling out of you,” Ferguson said during the Inside Edition interview about those recorded statements. “You are trying to comprehend it yourself. I was trying to process what happened.”
Ferguson remains free on $2 million bail, an amount that was increased after a judge determined he lied about consuming alcohol while awaiting trial. As an elected judge, Ferguson has continued to draw his salary.