Calif. Judge Accused of Killing Wife Repeats Claims That She Was Killed by Accident After Mistrial Declared: Report

Mar. 15, 2025

Jeffrey Ferguson on Feb. 26, 2025 in Santa Ana, Calif.Photo:Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty

Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty

The California judge who is accused of shooting and killing his wife spoke out for the first time since his case wasdeclared a mistrialearlier this week.

Ferguson, 74, was on trial for killing his 65-year-old wife, Sheryl Ferguson, at their Anaheim Hills home on the night of Aug. 3, 2023. The jurors deliberated for eight days and were split 11 to 1, with just one juror believing Ferguson was not guilty, according toABC7, theLos Angeles TimesandCBS News.

“In the count — the 11 to one. That was sort of a blow to my emotions, but I don’t have any other choice but to keep going forward,” Ferguson told NBC Los Angeles.

Jeffrey Ferguson, an Orange County Superior Court judge, who allegedly pulled a gun from his ankle holster and fatally shot his wife, listens to closing arguments at the Santa Ana Central Justice Center.Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty

He likened the feeling of being put on trial for his wife’s murder — instead of presiding over a trial as he normally did as a judge — to “being in an episode ofTwilight Zone.”

“It’s like you’re snatched out of your reality, and you’re plunked down without any warning into a completely different world, a world that’s not particularly friendly to you,” he told the outlet. “After doing what I’ve done in the criminal justice system for 40 years, finding myself in that chair was bewildering and hard to fathom.”

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Ferguson — who pleaded not guilty to the crime — also reiterated his previous testimony on trial that hedid not intentionally shoot his wifeand that what happened was an accident.

“I’m not getting away with anything because I lost her, and she lost her life,” an emotional Ferguson told NBC Los Angeles.

A photo of Jeffrey Ferguson and his wife Sheryl Ferguson.Sheryl Ferguson Facebook

Sheryl Ferguson Facebook

During the trial, the Calif. judge took to the stand to testify on the incident. He admitted that he and his wife had a heated argument earlier that night and that he had several drinks before they returned home. In his testimony, he claimed that he began feeling the effects of the alcohol and heard his wife tell him, “Why don’t you put that gun away from me.”

“My arm failed, I got a shooting pain and my arm dropped,” Ferguson said earlier during his trial, perThe San Bernardino Sun. “I reflexively grabbed it. I didn’t want to drop it on the floor. It fired. When I grabbed it my finger came off the trigger guard and must have hit the trigger.”

Ferguson was arrested on the night of his wife’s death and was later charged with one felony count of murder, one count of felony enhancement of personal use of a firearm and one count of felony enhancement of discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury and death.

A hearing to set a new trial date for Ferguson is scheduled for Thursday, March 20.

source: people.com