California judge, who shot and killed his wife, convicted of murder

A veteran Orange County Superior Court judge and former prosecutor who shot and killed his wife during a heated 2023 argument at their Anaheim Hills home was convicted on Tuesday, April 22, of murder.

Jurors deliberated for around eight hours before finding Jeffrey Ferguson guilty of second-degree murder for gunning down his wife, Sheryl, with a Glock .40-caliber pistol he constantly carried in an ankle holster.

Immediately after the verdict, Ferguson was allowed to embrace his adult son, Phillip, before being handcuffed and taken into custody. District Attorney Todd Spitzer, who was seated near the father and son, described hearing Ferguson tell Phillip: “Be strong.”

Ferguson faces up to 40 years to life in prison at his sentencing, which is set for June 13.

“He lost his wife, he lost his son, his family, the respect of the bench, of the legal community,” Spitzer said of Ferguson after the verdict. “There are no winners here.”

The conviction marks a shocking downfall for Ferguson, 74, who spent decades in the Orange County law enforcement community as both a prosecutor and a judge.

Immediately after the August 2023 shooting, Ferguson texted staff at his courtroom at the Fullerton courthouse, “I just lost it. I shot my wife. I won’t be in tomorrow. I will be in custody. I’m so sorry.” Hours later, while sitting in room at the Anaheim Police Station, Ferguson was recorded saying to himself “I killed her. Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, convict my ass. I did it.”

The prosecution alleged that an inebriated Ferguson intentionally shot his 65-year-old wife after she mocked him while the couple and an adult son were watching the television show “Breaking Bad” in their family room.

Ferguson testified that he was trying to place the firearm on a coffee table when his shoulder gave out and he fumbled the firearm, inadvertently firing the fatal gunshot.

“I didn’t mean to kill her, I didn’t mean to shoot her, I didn’t mean to do anything like that,” Ferguson testified last week.

His defense attorney argued that an “accidental discharge” of the firearm means Ferguson committed no crime.

Jurors were tasked with deciding whether Ferguson committed second-degree murder, a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter, or if he should be acquitted.

A different jury in an earlier trial deadlocked last month 11 to 1 in favor of a second-degree murder conviction. A mistrial was declared, paving the way for the current retrial.

Earlier Tuesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Eleanor J. Hunter, who presided over both trials, sharply criticized Ferguson for violating a court order in an alleged attempt to improperly influence the jurors during their deliberations.

Hunter was on the verge of revoking Ferguson’s bail when the jury announced they had reached a verdict, making the matter moot.

Judge Hunter was angered that Ferguson, before the courtroom opened for the day on Tuesday, sat with his son on a bench right outside the courtroom doors, near the jurors. She had previously ordered him to sit further down the courthouse hallway, away from jurors, during courtroom breaks.

Hunter said she didn’t want Ferguson to “try to garner sympathy” from the jurors, something jurors are cautioned not to consider when reaching a verdict.

The judge said she had no faith that Ferguson would listen to any further warnings and that there had to be a consequence for ignoring court orders.

“I am really at my wits’ end,” Hunter said. “This whole case is that rules don’t apply to Mr. Ferguson.”

Hunter, a judge from neighboring Los Angeles County, was assigned the case in order to avoid a conflict of interest with Ferguson’s judicial colleagues in Orange County.

Hunter has not hidden her exasperation with Ferguson, both leading up to and during his trial and retrial.

Last year, Judge Hunter doubled Ferguson’s bail to $2 million — forcing him to spend time in Los Angeles County lockup — after she determined he lied to cover up consuming alcohol while awaiting trial. Ferguson claimed his use of cortisone cream and hand sanitizer had caused a false-positive reading for alcohol on his ankle monitor. Judge Hunter described that story as “ridiculous.”

Ferguson has admitted repeatedly breaking the law by carrying a concealed weapon while consuming alcohol, a violation of the concealed carry permit he has had since the mid-1980s. He also admitted to drinking during lunch breaks once or twice a week when he was a sitting judge before going back to court to hear criminal cases.

During Ferguson’s testimony in both the original trial and the retrial, Judge Hunter repeatedly admonished him to only answer the questions he was asked by attorneys rather than interject further comment. She also warned him against displays of emotion during his testimony.

“It is pretty apparent you aren’t going to respect my wishes, even though you say you are sorry all the time,” Hunter told Ferguson at one point during his testimony last week.

“You are not going to be in control of this situation, do you understand?” the judge added.

“Yes ma’am,” Ferguson replied.

Ferguson also drew Judge Hunter’s ire by taking part in multiple interviews — in what Hunter described as a “press tour” — between the first trial and the retrial. Hunter questioned whether that was Ferguson’s attempt — by crying on camera and making statements about how he feels like he is “already dead” — to taint the jury pool.

Participants — as well as audience members — of criminal trials are explicitly barred from interacting with jurors or discussing the case within their earshot.

One of Sheryl’s brothers at the end of the first trial said he believed the shooting was accidental and urged prosecutors to drop the murder charge.

Spitzer said his office would continue to support Phillip, Ferguson’s son, and Sheryl’s other family members regardless of their stance during the trial. Spitzer expressed sympathy for Phillip, who witnessed his mother’s death.

“Phillip, you did nothing wrong — you cannot go through life and feel guilty for being a witness in your mother’s death,” Spitzer said. “The fact that your father did what he did was not your fault.”

Ferguson’s attorney, Cameron Talley, said he plans to appeal the verdict.