SANTA ANA (CNS) – The son of an Orange County Superior Court Judge charged with fatally shooting his wife will continue testifying about the killing Thursday.
Jeffrey Ferguson, 74, is charged with murder with sentencing enhancements for discharge of a gun causing death and the personal use of a gun. He is accused of killing his wife, Sheryl, on Aug. 3, 2023.
Ferguson’s attorney, Cameron Talley, deferred an opening statement until later in the trial.
What degree of murder jurors will get to consider will depend on how the evidence rolls out during the trial. Senior Deputy District Attorney Seton Hunt indicated in court papers he would present a second-degree murder case to jurors, but it is unclear if Los Angeles Superior Court Eleanor Hunter, who is presiding over the trial in Santa Ana, will allow jurors to also consider manslaughter.
Ferguson’s defense attorneys are expected to argue it was an accidental shooting.
Police were called to the judge’s home just after 8 p.m. that day at 8508 E. Canyon Vista Drive. When officers arrived they found 65-year-old Sheryl Ferguson had suffered a fatal gunshot wound, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
When Ferguson got home at about 3:30 p.m. that day he had a beer and a rum and coke, Hunt said. He then went to the El Cholo restaurant in Anaheim Hills with his wife and their son, then-22-year-old Phillip, and drank margaritas, Hunt said.
“They got into a heated argument about finances and lifestyle choices,” Hunt said during Wednesday’s opening statement.
The couple sparred about Ferguson’s 37-year-old son, Kevin, from his first marriage, who was still depending on his father financially, Hunt said. Ferguson and his second wife, Sheryl, had been together for about 20 years, Hunt said.
“They had that argument about finances, about Kevin, about purchases he wanted to make,” Hunt said.
At one point during the dinner, Ferguson mimicked a gun with his hand and pointed at her, Hunt said.
Sheryl Ferguson left the restaurant to cool off and Phillip confronted his father before joining his mother outside as well, Hunt said. Eventually, the two came back to the table and they went home, the prosecutor added.
Phillip asked his father why the two don’t divorce, and his father said he couldn’t afford it, Hunt said.
Phillip, a Southern Methodist University student who was home for the summer, was in the habit of joining the couple for TV-watching evenings and the three were watching an episode of “Breaking Bad” as the argument continued, the prosecutor added.
“Sheryl tells the defendant to shut up,” Hunt said.
Phillip Ferguson, a history buff, allegedly got up and turned his back on them as he picked up a replica sword from his collection. The two continued to argue about him making the gun gesture at her. At some point she said something to the effect of why not point a real gun at her, the prosecutor said.
When Phillip Ferguson heard the gunshot he leaped over the couch to tackle his father and retrieve the gun, Hunt said.
“Sheryl’s last words were `He shot me,”‘ according to the prosecutor.
The defendant told his son to call 911, Hunt said.
The prosecutor played a 911 call to dispatchers who coached the distressed, at times hyperventilating Phillip through chest compressions on the victim as her breathing faded.
Jeffrey Ferguson allegedly sent a text to his co-workers — his bailiff and court clerk, 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.”
The defendant went out to the front of the house to wait for police and paramedics while his son aided his mother.
Jurors saw body-worn camera of Ferguson frequently cursing and making self-deprecating remarks while also crying and asking several times whether his wife was going to make it.
Hunt said an expert is expected to testify that Ferguson’s blood- alcohol level was .17 at the time, which is more than twice the limit for driving. Seven hours after the killing his blood-alcohol level was .065, Hunt said.
At one point while at a police station Ferguson allegedly volunteered, “I killed her, ladies and gentleman of the jury. Convict my ass. I did it.”
Ferguson also called 911, but when he was asked if he shot his wife he said, “I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
He told Officer Michael Lee as he arrived on scene, “I did it and shoot me,” Lee testified.
Ferguson is seen on the bodyworn camera lamenting often about his son.
“The world is going to hate me,” he said. “My son will now hate me.” Later, he added to himself, “Phillip, I’m so sorry.”
He told the officers, “My son will hate me for the rest of his life.”
He also asked one of the officers to get his son, so he could “hit me in the face. I deserve it.”
Jeffrey Ferguson, a native of Oakland, earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences and social ecology from UC Irvine in 1973. He earned his law degree in 1982 from Western State College of Law, beginning his legal career the following year in the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, where he later became a senior prosecutor assigned to the Major Narcotics Enforcement Team. He was president of the North Orange County Bar Association from 2012-14. The Orange County Narcotics Officers Association named him prosecutor of the year four times.
He became a judge in 2015.
Sheryl Ferguson previously worked for the Santa Barbara and Orange County probation departments and later for the American Funds Service Company for almost 20 years prior to becoming a full-time mother.
Phillip Ferguson testified that the two often argued and that he and his mother were growing concerned about the defendant’s drinking.
When his father would drink he would become “a lot more downtrodden and depressed,” Phillip Ferguson testified.
“If there was an argument he would be more emotional than usual,” his son testified.
Sheryl Ferguson would only drink on “special occasions,” his son said.
Sometimes when father and son would meet for brunch his father would drink, he said.
His father got home from work about 3:30 p.m. the day of the shooting, his son said.
Under questioning from Hunt, Phillip Ferguson said his father would take him to the gun range and taught him about gun safety. Hunt said that anyone with a concealed carry weapon permit is instructed not to drink while using the gun.
One of the admonishments the defendant gave his son during training was, “Never place the finger on the trigger until you intend to use the weapon,” Phillip Ferguson testified.
The argument started before the family went out to eat, Phillip Ferguson said. Sheryl Ferguson objected to her husband financially supporting Kevin Ferguson.
When they got to the restaurant, the defendant tried to make his case again, but his wife kept telling him she did not want to discuss it anymore, Phillip Ferguson said.
“She wanted it to be done for the night,” Phillip Ferguson said.
At some point, the defendant made the hand gesture mimicking a gun, which prompted his wife to get up and leave for about 10 minutes, Phillip Ferguson said.
The defendant’s son also angrily confronted his father, asking him why he was being a jerk, he testified.
As Sheryl Ferguson drove them home there was tense silence in the five- minute trip, Phillip Ferguson testified.
As the family was watching the last three episodes of the TV series the defendant tried to apologize with his wife continuing to rebuff him, Phillip Ferguson testified.
“She told him to stop,” and later added, “shut up,” according to the couple’s son.
Phillip Ferguson got up to go in the yard as they continued arguing at when the victim said something to the effect of “why don’t you point a real gun at me,” the son heard the gunfire, he said.
“The next thing I remember when I turned around the gun was up and firing,” he testified.
Phillip Ferguson said he saw his father had his arm fully extended pointing at the victim, he said. Phillip Ferguson vaulted the couch and tackled his father, pinning his hand down, he said. When his father asked him to get off of him, Phillip Ferguson made him release the gun first, he said.
“I turned around and saw the chair (his mother was in) and the blood on it and it was then I realized” she was wounded, he testified.
“As I jumped over the couch I heard her say he shot me,” Phillip Ferguson testified.
Phillip Ferguson said he returned to Texas and stayed elsewhere with a girlfriend during winter break and graduated from SMU in May 2024. He returned home for the first time in August last year and he “mended” his relationship with his father, he said.
Phillip Ferguson will continue testifying Thursday.
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